Xinhua – China News Agency
Algeria debates chances of Islamists’ rise in parliament
English.news.cn 2012-05-08 22:08:41
ALGIERS, May 8 (Xinhua) — Influenced by pro-democratic movements in the region, Islamists in Algeria are striving for a rise in politics though the May 10 parliamentary elections.
Presently, it is hard to predict if the Algerian Islamists in the opposition can repeat a landslide victory made by their brothers in many countries in the Arab world, as observers say the North African nation is quite different from its neighbors.
In general, Islamists parties in Algeria have not suffered political marginalization as their peers did in neighboring countries. Also, there has been, so far, no reliable survey to measure the chances of winning of the Islamists in the elections.
Mhand Berkouk, the head of the Algerian Center for Strategic Researches and Security (CRSS), told Xinhua that “Algeria is neither Tunisia nor Morocco or Egypt. We have our own political history where Islamism is an essential part of the political landscape and we’ve seen at least one Islamist political party sharing the power, like the Movement of Society of Peace (MSP).”
Berkouk further said that “a number of Islamist parties are on the race, and their chances are less than one would expect because they are contesting the same segment of voters. And regarding the wrath of Islamism, which is also the hotbed of terrorism, Algerians have become very weary of Islamism not as a social phenomenon but as a political agenda.”
In 1991, the now-banned Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) won the first round of the parliamentary elections, grabbing 188 out of the 231 seats contested in that round.
Since the FIS advocated an Islamic state ruled by the Sharia law, the army intervened and cancelled the elections, thus barring the Islamists from reaching the parliament. The incident plunged the North African nation into a decade of civil war, which killed some 150,000 people.
Since the end of the war, Algerian Islamists have been fighting to restore their reputation. In fact, current Islamist parties claim themselves to be moderate and far from the FIS “radicalism.”
“Historically speaking, Algerians, have always voted for Islamist parties. Algerian voters are attracted by religious speeches, and we have confirmed that in previous political contests,” political analyst Hamid Ghoumrassa told Xinhua.
“The government says the decade of ‘terrorism’ in the 1990s, a devastating era, has tarnished the image of the Islamists. However, the Islamists, for their part, say the government has intentionally mixed Islamism with terrorism, noting that they are democratic in their political practice and respect the peaceful change of power,” the analyst remarked.
He said the Islamists try to convey their message of peace to the Algerian people in bid to remove the stigma attached to Islamism and attract more voters,
Head of the Islamist Movement for Justice and Development (FJD), Abdellah Djaballah, told Xinhua that he has “accurate information” that the Islamists would have won every election in Algeria if the votes had not been rigged.
Djaballah has been a prominent Islamist opponent since the 1970s.
An Islamist alliance baptized as the Green Algeria Alliance was established in early March as a pact between Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), Ennahda (Renaissance) and El-Islah (Reform) .
The move was aimed at joining the Islamic forces to win a majority of seats in the new parliament. It was also seen as an attempt by the MSP to catch up with the changes brought about by the Arab turmoil to the region, meaning the political rise of the Islamic forces in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco.
“We are the most important political formation in Algeria, and we are going to win the majority of seats in the new parliament,” spokesman for the Green Algeria Alliance Kamel Mida told Xinhua.
The Islamist official said that “the Arab turmoil has boosted Islamist trend in Algeria,” adding that the alliance’ vision is based on tolerance and change in power and promising political pluralism.
Lakhdar Benkhellaf, the national coordinator of the FJD accredited by interior ministry last February, told Xinhua that ” we are so confident about the forthcoming poll,” adding that the young age of the FJD would never be a hamper on the road to the parliament, given that “this party’s members are experienced enough in politics.”
Meanwhile, Bachir Medjahed, a political analyst to Xinhua that Islamists in Algeria have understood that “they should avoid overplaying the Islamic tone, which once plunged the country in a decade of violence.”
He said even if the Islamist parties claim that they are not aiming at establishing an Islamic state, “authorities have to make sure the Republic laws are respected, and the population should keep vigilant.”
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