Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ALGIERS647
2007-05-10 12:45:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Algiers
Cable title:  

BEYOND POLITICAL PARTIES, LITTLE INTEREST IN

Tags:  PGOV KDEM AG 
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VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHAS #0647/01 1301245
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 101245Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY ALGIERS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3588
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1604
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 8555
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 2177
RUEHRB/AMEMBASSY RABAT 1757
RUEHTU/AMEMBASSY TUNIS 6591
RUEHCL/AMCONSUL CASABLANCA 2958
C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 000647 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM AG
SUBJECT: BEYOND POLITICAL PARTIES, LITTLE INTEREST IN
UPCOMING ELECTIONS

REF: ALGIERS 619

Classified By: Ambassador Robert S. Ford, reasons 1.4 (b, d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L ALGIERS 000647

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/09/2017
TAGS: PGOV KDEM AG
SUBJECT: BEYOND POLITICAL PARTIES, LITTLE INTEREST IN
UPCOMING ELECTIONS

REF: ALGIERS 619

Classified By: Ambassador Robert S. Ford, reasons 1.4 (b, d)


1. (C) SUMMARY: Going into the last week before the May 17
Algerian legislative elections, our sense is that political
parties are flailing amidst widespread public disinterest.
The head of the national election commission here told a
government newspaper on May 9 that his commission is neither
a police nor a judicial authority and cannot compel any
government authority to do anything. The head of the largest
Islamist party, the Movement for a Peaceful Society (in
French, MSP) on May 8 accused the two main pro-government
parties of preparing to rig the vote with local election
administrators. Our limited sampling suggests most Algerians
believe that their vote changes nothing and that the results
are largely a foregone conclusion. Our contacts were more
inclined to talk about the results of the French presidential
election than the campaigns underway in their own country.
Two stalwart business contacts compare the current Algerian
political environment to the 1980s, but differ on whether
today's political scene is better or worse by comparison.
Political parties participating in the balloting, with the
exception of the predominantly Berber Rally for Culture and
Democracy Party, shy away from criticizing the electoral
process. In an election where turnout is key for the
performance of some parties more than others, the lack of
voter enthusiasm is clear. End Summary.


2. (U) Said Bouchair, head of the Political Commission to
Monitor Elections, told the government el-Moujadhid newspaper
May 9 that his commission is neither a judicial institution
able to take offenders to court nor an executive or police
authority able to compel compliance with the law. Rather, he
said, the commission's role was to raise violations of
Algeria's election law with the proper Algerian authorities
(in the Interior Ministry). In a May 7 interview with
L'Expression newspaper Bouchair said that the commission so
far had intervened to get one political party to change its
television presentation because it directly criticized an
individual in the government, something he said the Algerian
election law does not allow. He also noted that he had told

political parties to stop using President Bouteflika's
picture as a backdrop, as that violated the election law's
stipulation that symbols of the state not be used for
political purposes. Asked in the May 7 interview about his
commission's role in preventing election fraud, Bouchair said
the commission had been set up late and was hence unable to
act on many complaints from the campaign period. He then
noted that his commission's job after the election results
are announced is to write a final report to the Algerian
president. Le Soir d'Algerie newspaper, widely read among
educated Algerians, carried an editorial on May 8 entitled
"Impotent Bouchair" that wondered why men like Said Bouchair
would take positions that gave them responsibility but no
authority and thus let themselves be used by the state.
(Comment: the ultimate sign of Bouchair's authority is his
office repeatedly expressing to us a willingness to meet the
Ambassador only after the Foreign Ministry sends approval for
such a meeting in writing. The MFA has so far avoided doing
so. End Comment.)

--------------
FRAUD: LITTLE DISCUSSED, WIDELY ANTICIPATED
--------------


3. (C) In our contacts with political parties participating
in the electoral process, we have heard few specific
complaints in the past week. The May 10 edition of
L'Expression reported that Islamist MSP party leader
Aboujerrah Soltani publicly accused the major ruling parties
(meaning the FLN and RND) of actively coordinating with
election administrations to fix election counts. In private
with us, however, MSP officials have worried more about
disinterest in the elections than about problems during the
campaign itself.


4. (C) Lakhdar Benkhellaf, an MP closely associated with the
conservative Islamist Abdallah Djaballah whom the Interior
Ministry blocked from standing for election (reftel),told us
the May 17 elections would bring about no change so long as
the voters and political parties are "muzzled and gagged."
Algerians of all backgrounds and persuasions, insisted
Benkhellaf, should be able to run for election, he
complained. The only partial bright spot for Benkhellaf was
that the Ministry of Interior, in a decision which we have

confirmed, will permit political party lists at the polls to
display photos of candidates alongside their names. He and
others had hoped that party symbols would also be allowed.
In any event, allowing pictures will be of benefit to
illiterate voters who otherwise may not be able to read the
ballot on their own.


5. (C) The secular opposition party Rally for Culture and
Democracy Party (RCD),through its spokesman Mouhcene
Belabas, told us its top priority as an opposition party was
to ensure that the elections were fair and transparent,
because this was the starting point for genuine change.
Nothing good would come from efforts to build democracy in
Algeria if the people were not vigilant and involved in the
process, according to Belabas.


6. (C) The left-wing Workers' Party, which many political
observers expect to emerge as the largest opposition party,
said through its spokesman, Abdelhamid Boubaghla, that it
aimed to improve the social and economic living standards of
Algerians as well as protect Algerian interests (as opposed
to foreign interests). Boubaghla did not, however, express
concerns about the electoral process itself. (Comment:
Workers' Party leader Louisa Hanoun is pounding on the United
States as part of her standard campaign speech. One of her
favorite themes is that the U.S. is manipulating terrorism in
Algeria to press the Algerian government to accept an
American base on Algerian soil. The Ambassador expects to be
able to respond to this indirectly in a scheduled May 13
press interview. End Comment.)

--------------
WILL ALGERIANS BOTHER TO VOTE ?
--------------


7. (C) Our Algerian contacts across different socio-economic
groups and regions claim that voting in Algeria changes
nothing. Most expect one of the two largest political
parties, the National Liberation Front (FLN) or National
Rally for Democracy (RND),to win the most seats. No one
expects the presidential coalition parties -- RND, FLN, and
the Islamist MSP -- to garner less than 60 percent of the
vote. In this sense, the results of the elections for most
Algerians are a foregone conclusion. Noureddine Ait
Messaoudene, executive director of the MSP party, told us his
party was concerned that the turnout on May 17 would be very
low, especially in urban areas, representing a real setback
for Algerian democracy. A senator from Blida, a city south
of Algiers, told Ambassador May 9 that he expected very low
turnout - perhaps only a quarter of voters from his city.
The public, he opined, found little interesting among any of
the parties on the campaign trail. L'Expression on May 10
called the election campaign "morose" and said political
leaders with their wild promises take Algerian voters to be
idiots.


8. (C) The parliament itself comes under criticism too.
One professor commenting to us on the disinterest in the
campaign called the parliament a weak institution that does
whatever the executive desires. Most Algerians with whom we
speak believe the local elections planned for fall will be
far more important to the daily lives of ordinary Algerians.


9. (C) One young Algerian entrepreneur representing a U.S.
information technology firm told us everyone he talked to was
unenthusiastic about the upcoming elections. He said,
"People just don't care or think the elections will be
credible." The lack of political participation and general
malaise among political parties made it appear as though
Algeria had returned to the 1980s, in his view. This was
very troubling, because any Algerian who grew up in that
decade, he maintained, was aware of the turmoil that followed
in the 1990s. Another business figure in information
technology with strong connections to the military confirmed
that "people are not at all interested" in the elections. He
predicted a very low voter turnout and said the election
"charade" was very discouraging. The political parties, to
his dismay, were not offering any new ideas. The press,
likewise, did not offer a good forum for free and fair
debate.

-------------- --------------
FRANCE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAPTURED MORE ATTENTION
-------------- --------------


10. (C) Perhaps most telling in our conversations of recent

days is that Algerians have been far more interested and
passionate about discussing with us the French presidential
election results. Many Algerians with whom we have spoken
believe Sarkozy's election as president of France is more
significant for Algeria than the parliamentary elections of
May 17. One driver waiting outside a restaurant expressed no
interest at all in the Algerian elections but spoke for ten
minutes about Sarkozy and his disappointment at his election.
Like most Algerians, he perceives Sarkozy as anti-Algerian,
citing the president-elect's opposition to a bilateral
Friendship Treaty and perceived harsh statements against
Algerians living in France. One of our Algerian business
contacts in the IT field commented that the French
presidential election captured Algerians' attention due to
the televised debates about social issues in France. By
contrast, in Algeria "sycophants" of the military
establishment were simply rounding up votes for their
positions. He expressed concern that the situation in
Algeria today was worse than in the 1980s or 1990s because
civil society and open debate were less evident today.

--------------
COMMENT
--------------


11. (C) It is interesting that so few political parties,
including serious opponents of the government, have
complained much about constraints holding them back during
the election campaign itself. The government consciously
decided to equalize media time between the larger, more
organized political parties and the small political parties
(Algerians call these tiny parties 'sanafir,' an Arabic word
meaning dwarfs). That decision, and the dismal quality of
most parties' public outreach, has lowered the quality of
debate. Notably, political parties have not taken advantage
of major scandals like the Khalifa bank to castigate the
government effectively. The parliament's history of not
challenging the government eroded its credibility and reduced
public interest. Finally, election commission head
Bouchair's mediocre reassurances, and the history of
government manipulation of vote counts, has further eroded
public confidence in the process. It remains to be seen how
great the voter turnout will be. Many Algerians will vote,
but we think many more will not either because they don't
want to take the time or because not voting itself will be an
act of protest. We expect that in any case the government
will inflate the turnout numbers. Above all, what is clear
so far is that the election has not given Algerians new
confidence in the Algerian political process. Indeed, one
Islamist opposition parliamentarian worried that there would
be less political space after the elections.
FORD