Algerian presidential election, 2009
Encyclopedia
A presidential election was held in Algeria
on 9 April 2009. It was described in a US Embassy in Algiers cable as "carefully choreographed and heavily controlled", with the official turnout figure "exaggerated".
to run for a third term. The People's National Assembly
endorsed the removal of the term limit on 12 November 2008; only the Rally for Culture and Democracy
(RCD) voted against its removal.
Although some urged former President Liamine Zéroual
to run, he said in a published statement on 14 January 2009 that he would not, while also suggesting that it was not in the best interests of democracy for President Bouteflika to run for a third term.
RCD President Saïd Sadi
announced on 15 January 2009 that the RCD would not participate in the election, which he described as a "pathetic and dangerous circus", saying that to participate "would be tantamount to complicity in an operation of national humiliation".
Bouteflika announced his independent candidacy for a third term at a rally in Algiers on 12 February 2009, and he officially submitted his candidacy on 23 February, shortly before the deadline.
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
on 9 April 2009. It was described in a US Embassy in Algiers cable as "carefully choreographed and heavily controlled", with the official turnout figure "exaggerated".
Removal of term limit
The Council of Ministers announced on 3 November 2008 that a planned constitutional revision would remove the two-term limit on the Presidency that was previously included in Article 74, thereby enabling President Abdelaziz BouteflikaAbdelaziz Bouteflika
Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the ninth President of Algeria. He has been in office since 1999. He continued emergency rule until 24 February 2011, and presided over the end of the bloody Algerian Civil War in 2002...
to run for a third term. The People's National Assembly
People's National Assembly
The People's National Assembly is the lower house of the Algerian Parliament. It is composed of 380 members directly elected by the population....
endorsed the removal of the term limit on 12 November 2008; only the Rally for Culture and Democracy
Rally for Culture and Democracy
The Rally for Culture and Democracy is a political party in Algeria. It promotes secularism and has its principal power base in Kabylia, a major Berber-speaking region...
(RCD) voted against its removal.
Candidates
Thirteen candidates had submitted papers to contest the election, but only six were approved:- Abdelaziz BouteflikaAbdelaziz BouteflikaAbdelaziz Bouteflika is the ninth President of Algeria. He has been in office since 1999. He continued emergency rule until 24 February 2011, and presided over the end of the bloody Algerian Civil War in 2002...
: current president, supported by coalition of National Liberation FrontNational Liberation Front (Algeria)The National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Algeria. It was set up on November 1, 1954 as a merger of other smaller groups, to obtain independence for Algeria from France.- Anticolonial struggle :...
and National Rally for Democracy - Louisa HanouneLouisa HanouneLouisa Hanoune is the head of Algeria's Workers' Party . In 2004, she became the first woman to run for President of Algeria. Hanoune was imprisoned by the government several times prior to the legalization of political parties in 1988...
: candidate of the Trotskyist Workers' PartyWorkers' Party (Algeria)The Workers' Party is a Trotskyist political party in Algeria, closely linked with the Workers' Party of France. The party is led by Louisa Hanoune....
(PT) - Moussa Touati: candidate of the Algerian National FrontAlgerian National FrontThe Algerian National Front is a Right-of-Centre political party in Algeria. In the elections of 30 May 2002, the party won 1.6 % of the popular vote and eight of 380 seats. In the 2007 elections, it won 4.18% of the vote and 13 seats....
(FNA) - Mohammed SaidMohammed Said-Politicians:* Mohammad Said bin Yusof - Malaysian politician* Mohammed Said Bareh - Eritrean politician* Muhammad Ali, Prince of Said, Egyptian prince* Muhammad Osman Said - former Prime Minister of Libya...
: independent candidate (Party of Justice and Liberty) - Djahid Younsi: candidate of the Movement for National ReformMovement for National ReformThe Movement for National Reform is a moderate Islamist political party in Algeria. It received 9.5% of the vote in the 2002 elections and received 43 members of parliament....
- Ali Fawzi RebaineAli Fawzi RebaineAli Fawzi Rebaine is the leader of the Ahd 54 political party in Algeria.He is an optician and human rights-activist, and claims to have founded Algeria's first independent human rights association...
: candidate of the Ahd 54Ahd 54Ahd 54 , "Generation of '54", is a minor Algerian party led by human rights-activist Ali Fawzi Rebaine, who claims to have founded the first Algerian human rights organization. Its name is an allusion to the start of the Algerian War of Independence, in November 1954. In the 2007 election, it won...
Although some urged former President Liamine Zéroual
Liamine Zéroual
Liamine Zéroual was the ninth President of Algeria from 31 January 1994 to 27 April 1999.He was born in Batna and joined the National Liberation Army in 1957, at the age of 16, to fight French rule of Algeria. After independence, he received training in Cairo, Moscow, and Paris...
to run, he said in a published statement on 14 January 2009 that he would not, while also suggesting that it was not in the best interests of democracy for President Bouteflika to run for a third term.
RCD President Saïd Sadi
Saïd Sadi
Saïd Sadi is an Algerian politician and President of the Rally for Culture and Democracy ....
announced on 15 January 2009 that the RCD would not participate in the election, which he described as a "pathetic and dangerous circus", saying that to participate "would be tantamount to complicity in an operation of national humiliation".
Bouteflika announced his independent candidacy for a third term at a rally in Algiers on 12 February 2009, and he officially submitted his candidacy on 23 February, shortly before the deadline.