Algerian presidential election, 1995

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Algerian presidential election, 1995

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  1988 16 November 1995 1999  

  Liamine Zeroual.jpg
Nominee Liamine Zeroual Mahfoud Nahnah
Party Independent MSP
Popular vote 7,088,618 2,971,974
Percentage 61.0% 25.6%

President before election

Chadli Bendjedid
FLN

Elected President

Liamine Zéroual
Independent

Algeria emb (1976).svg
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
Algeria

Presidential elections were held in Algeria on 16 November 1995, in the midst of the Algerian Civil War. The result was a victory for Liamine Zeroual, head of the High Council of State at the time, who won 61% of the vote. The Armed Islamic Group of Algeria threatened to kill anyone who voted, with the slogan "one vote, one bullet", but (official) voter turnout was 74.9%. [1]

Algeria country in North Africa

Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. The capital and most populous city is Algiers, located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean coast. With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres (919,595 sq mi), Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa. Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia, to the east by Libya, to the west by Morocco, to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory, Mauritania, and Mali, to the southeast by Niger, and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea. The country is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes (counties). It has the highest Human development index of all non-island African countries.

Algerian Civil War 1991-2002 civil war in Algeria

The Algerian Civil War was an armed conflict between the Algerian Government and various Islamic rebel groups which began in 1991 following a coup negating an Islamist electoral victory. The war began slowly as it first appeared the government had successfully crushed the Islamist movement, but armed groups emerged to fight jihad and by 1994, violence had reached such a level that it appeared the government might not be able to withstand it. By 1996–7 however it became clear that the violence and predation of the Islamists had lost its popular support, although fighting continued for several years after.

Armed Islamic Group of Algeria armed organization

The Armed Islamic Group, was one of the two main Islamist insurgents groups that fought the Algerian government and army in the Algerian Civil War. It was created from smaller armed groups following the 1992 military coup and arrest and internment of thousands of officials in the Islamist Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) party after that party won the first round of parliamentary elections in December 1991. It was led by a succession of amirs (commanders) who were killed or arrested one after another.

Contents

Candidates

Mahfoud Nahnah was the leader of the Islamist political party Movement of Society for Peace (Hamas) in Algeria.

Rally for Culture and Democracy political party

The Rally for Culture and Democracy is a political party in Algeria. It promotes secularism (laïcité) and has its principal power base in Kabylie, a major Berber-speaking region. Some consider it to take the position of a liberal party for the Berber-speaking population in Algerian politics.

The Party of Algerian Renewal is a minor liberal political party in Algeria.

Results

CandidatePartyVotes%
Liamine Zeroual Independent7,088,61861.0
Mahfoud Nahnah Movement for the Society of Peace 2,971,97425.6
Said Sadi Rally for Culture and Democracy 1,115,7969.6
Noureddine Boukrouh Party of Algerian Renewal 443,144 3.8
Invalid/blank votes345,748-
Total11,965,280100
Source: Nohlen et al.

Comments

Delegations of observers came from the Arab League, the African Union, and the United Nations, and reported no major problems. The GIA had threatened to kill voters, but the election passed with few attacks. The turnout was high, despite the three largest parties of the previous elections (FIS, FLN, and FFS) calling for a boycott.

Arab League organisation of Arab states

The Arab League, formally the League of Arab States, is a regional organization of Arab states in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has 22 members, but Syria's participation has been suspended since November 2011, as a consequence of government repression during the Syrian Civil War.

African Union Supranational union

The African Union (AU) is a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa, with exception of various territories of European possessions located in Africa. The bloc was founded on 26 May 2001 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and launched on 9 July 2002 in South Africa. The intention of the AU is to replace the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa by 32 signatory governments. The most important decisions of the AU are made by the Assembly of the African Union, a semi-annual meeting of the heads of state and government of its member states. The AU's secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa.

United Nations Intergovernmental organization

The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization that was tasked to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international co-operation and be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations. The headquarters of the UN is in Manhattan, New York City, and is subject to extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi, and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, protecting human rights, delivering humanitarian aid, promoting sustainable development and upholding international law. The UN is the largest, most familiar, most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world. In 24 October 1945, at the end of World War II, the organization was established with the aim of preventing future wars. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The UN is the successor of the ineffective League of Nations.

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References

  1. Nohlen, D, Krennerich, M & Thibaut, B (1999) Elections in Africa: A data handbook, p.60 ISBN   0-19-829645-2