Analysts Discuss Significance of Algerian Presidential Elections

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Analysts Discuss Significance of Algerian Presidential Elections Photo Credit: Farouk Batiche/Getty In preparation for the Algerian presidential elections on April 17, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems published an Algerian election guide, which includes information on the legal framework for Algeria’s elections as well as some background on the six presidential candidates: Abdelaziz Belaid, Ali Benflis, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Louisa Hanoune, Ali Faouzi Rebaine, and Moussa Touati. Geoff Porter estimates that Secretary of State John Kerry‘s trip to Algeria last week was a calculated move, aimed at ensuring stability in Algeria and confirming Abdelaziz Bouteflika‘s popular support. Porter explains that Algeria “has the 20th-largest defense budget in the world, spending more on defense than either Pakistan or Iran, and it has a well-equipped and well-trained military to show for it.” He cautions, however, “were Algerian voters to refuse to re-elect a president that they have only rarely seen in the last year, or were they to refuse to recognize the legitimacy of his re-election, or were he to be elected and die in office, Algeria could cease to be a big, reliable bulwark of stability.” Thus, he concludes, “For now, [the U.S.] should draw Algeria closer, through diplomacy in Algiers and in Washington. Through trust comes transparency and through transparency, strategic surprises can be sidestepped.” Writing from Tunis, Alexis Artaud de La Ferrière comments on the importance of the Algerian elections from a regional perspective. He says, “Significantly, there is no discernible difference (or even debate) amongst the candidates regarding foreign policy. The security-oriented consensus will likely persist. What will matter most for actors invested in the region is establishing working relationships with individuals within the next government.” John P. Entelis argues that although Bouteflika is all but guaranteed to win because of his historic contributions to Algeria, the announcement that Bouteflika would run again did spark some resentment throughout Algeria. Entelis writes, “Yet the response to Bouteflika’s inevitable ‘victory’ in the April 17 presidential elections has aroused a new level of national protests encompassing a wide variety of political groups and social classes who have demanded ‘enough’ (barakat) of the old corrupt, manipulated, and clandestine style governance, which Bouteflika’s candidacy represents.”.

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