Algeria: The Difficult Birth of a Moderate Islamist Political Coalition
Photo credit: M.Hacene of La Tribune newspaper
While Islamists in Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt have made inroads in the area of governance, and are currently being tested, their Algerian counterparts still remain largely in the opposition. Energized by the outcome of the various elections in the region, Algeria’s various legal Islamist parties seem to be working to coordinate a common approach. But a closer look at their position reveals that they are in competition against one another for leadership as Algerians get closer to their May 2012 election season.
Ahead of scheduled elections, the three leading Islamist parties, MSP, Ennahda and El-Islah have been negotiating the formation of a coalition. After a series of consultations and meetings, the head of El-Islah (Islamic Reform Movement) Hamlaoui Akouchi announced the formation of the coalition on Friday, February 24, 2012. But the announcement from the El-Islah chief has been somewhat minimized by the other party leaders with their own statements.
The purpose of the coalition is to present a single bloc in the next parliamentary elections, scheduled to take place on May 10, 2012. The three would put forward joint electoral lists, which they hope would have significant influence in the anticipated constitutional amendments that will take place after the elections. Facing them would be formidable opponents of the long-established and resourceful nationalist FLN party and the President’s RND party. The elections of the upcoming parliament will be assigned to work on the constitutional amendments. Continue here | Click here to subscribe
del.icio.us
Digg
Facebook
Google
Myspace
Email to a friend
Print version
Plain text
Home
Set as homepage
Add to favorites
Mobile site
Rss
Plain text
Archive
Comments (0 posted):
Post your comment