( 3 minutes read)
· Independent former doctor and public health official Brahim Boughali becomes president of Algeria’s 407-seat lower house, bagging 295 votes.
· The new parliament took office following June 12 elections, which was marked by boycott calls by the Hirak mass protest movement
· His nearest rival 57-year-old dethroned Ahmed Sadok from the Islamist MSP Party got only 87 votes
Independent former doctor and public health official Brahim Boughali becomes president of Algeria’s 407-seat lower house, bagging 295 votes. The new parliament took office following June 12 elections, which was marked by boycott calls by the Hirak mass protest movement. His nearest rival 57-year-old dethroned Ahmed Sadok from the Islamist MSP Party got only 87 votes.
The National Liberation Front (FLN), which ruled Algeria for decades under a one-party system following its 1962 independence from France, won the elections at a reduced scale. Its majority was reduced and it now holds 98 seats, while independents hold 84 and the MSP has 65.
After a quota system was scrapped, there are only 35 women in the new legislature. FLN has been facing a lot of problems associated with the corrupt and autocratic rule. People are losing interest in politics and governance. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the earlier president, was partly responsible for the electorate’s lack of enthusiasm for politics. Bouteflika resigned after mass Hirak protests against his rule in 2019. The Hirak movement continued to stage rallies demanding deep reforms, until the pandemic hit the scene. Restoring trust between people and the government is one of the main challenges of the
FLN party.
