2007 Algerian parliamentary election

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2007 Algerian parliamentary election
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  2002 17 May 2007 2012  

All 389 seats in the People's National Assembly
195 seats needed for a majority
PartyLeaderVote %Seats+/–
FLN Abdelaziz Belkhadem 22.95136−63
RND Ahmed Ouyahia 10.4462+15
MSP Boudjerra Soltani 9.7151+13
PT Louisa Hanoune 5.0926+5
FNA Moussa Touati 4.2213+5
MRI 3.395+4
RCD Saïd Sadi 3.2419+19
El-Infitah 2.633+3
MRN 2.563−40
MJD 2.295+5
Ahd 54 Ali Fawzi Rebaine 2.272+2
ANR 2.204+4
MEN 2.134+3
MNND 2.007+7
PNSD 1.992+2
FNIC 1.963+3
PRA 1.804+3
RA 1.751+1
MNE 1.722+2
RPR 1.482+2
PRP 1.3900
FND 1.371+1
MDS 0.891+1
Independents 9.8533+3
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
Prime Minister beforePrime Minister after
Abdelaziz Belkhadem
FLN
Abdelaziz Belkhadem
FLN

Parliamentary elections were held in Algeria on 17 May 2007. [1] 24 political parties and around 100 independent lists with a total of more than 12,000 candidates competed for the 389 seats in the National People's Assembly. While most Algerians voted on May 17, immigrants from Algeria to other countries (especially France) and Algerians living in the Sahara (i.e. Southern Algeria) and other nomads and semi-nomads voted on May 16 due to the distance from Algiers, the country's capital.

At 36% of the 18.8 million voters, turnout was the lowest in Algerian history. [2] [3] Several political organisations, notably the Socialist Forces Front, [4] the ex-communist Democratic and Social Movement, [5] leading members of the former Islamic Salvation Front (Abbassi Madani [6] and Ali Belhadj), the main faction of the split Islamist Islah Party, [7] and the newly formed organisation Rachad, [8] had called on their supporters to boycott these elections. These political groups claimed that the elections were consistently rigged by the government, and that participation merely lent a fundamentally corrupt process undeserved legitimacy.

The only notable remaining armed group in Algeria, the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, issued a video calling participation in the elections "a great sin", adding its voice to the boycott calls. Tight security measures were implemented to protect the elections; however, two bombs exploded in Constantine the day before the election, killing a police officer and wounding five others. [9]

Said Bouchair, the head of the national commission of legislative election control, initially reported that ballot boxes in some areas were being stuffed with FLN ballots, that observers were being prevented from attending, and that some areas refused to open ballot boxes before voting began to allow observers to see whether they were empty or not. He then retracted his statement and apologised. [10] About 15% of ballots were spoiled.

The Constitutional Council confirmed the results of the election, with slight changes to the voter turn-out rate and number of seats won by some parties, on May 21. [11] It rejected appeals regarding the election on May 30. [12]

Results

Women won 31 seats, which was an increase of eight. [13]

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
National Liberation Front 1,314,49422.95136–63
National Rally for Democracy 597,71210.4462+15
Movement of Society for Peace 556,4019.7151+13
Workers' Party 291,3955.0926+5
Algerian National Front 241,5944.2213+5
Islamic Renaissance Movement 193,9083.395+4
Rally for Culture and Democracy 185,6163.2419+19
El-Infitah Movement 150,4232.633+3
Movement for National Reform 146,5282.563–40
Movement for Youth and Democracy 130,9922.295+5
Ahd 54 129,8652.272+2
National Republican Alliance 125,8622.204+4
Movement of National Understanding 121,9612.134+3
National Movement for Nature and Democracy 115,0752.017+7
National Party for Solidarity and Development 114,2471.992+2
National Front of Independents for Understanding 112,2631.963+3
Party of Algerian Renewal 103,3561.804+3
Algerian Rally 100,3911.751+1
National Movement of Hope 98,6041.722+2
Republican Patriotic Rally 84,4971.482+2
Progressive Republican Party 79,4521.3900
National Democratic Front 78,5961.371+1
Democratic and Social Movement 50,8790.891+1
Socialist Workers Party 39,5470.6900
Independents564,1699.8533+3
Total5,727,827100.00389+73
Valid votes5,727,82785.58
Invalid/blank votes965,06414.42
Total votes6,692,891100.00
Registered voters/turnout18,761,08435.67
Source: Official Journal

References