RCD pulls out of Algerian presidential race

2009-01-19

Algeria's Rally for Culture and Democracy declared its intention Thursday to boycott the country's upcoming presidential elections.

By Achira Mammeri for Magharebia in Algiers – 19/01/09

[Getty Images] Rally for Culture and Democracy leader Said Sadi said his party would boycott the country’s upcoming presidential election.

Algeria's Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) announced Thursday (January 15th) that its leader, Said Sadi, will not stand in the presidential elections to be held in April. Party leaders, who have long hinted at abstaining from the vote, finalised their decision in an extraordinary session.

"Taking part in such a contest would mean complicity in a national exercise in humiliation," RCD President Sadi told party members in Algiers.

Many in the RCD question the Algerian authorities' willingness to undertake large-scale political reform and believe the election is already skewed in favour of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, despite the fact that he has not officially announced his intention to stand for a third term.

The party reacted publicly to the January 4th announcement by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia that the government intends to welcome election monitors to oversee the vote after a decade of refusal.

In an interview with Le Soir, Sadi denounced the Algerian government's decision to block observers from the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE). The authorised organisations – the United Nations, Organisation of the Islamic Conference, Arab League and African Union – have already shown their limitations, he said.

"The authorities have been selective, and the fact that they have not invited neutral and experienced organisations tells us what their aims are," the RCD declared in a public statement.

Calling the move "state-driven political chicanery", the party stressed that it has long demanded that international observers be allowed to monitor the elections.

The RCD also argued that a sincere effort to guarantee election transparency should begin much earlier than permitted by the government. Summoning observers just a few weeks before the elections renders their involvement ineffective, the party argued. "Observers are trained to prevent and detect organisational failings; this means they need to be in the country for several months before an election to sort out the electoral roll and examine media coverage and the use of public funds. This has not happened in Algeria."

The invitation of international observers drew mixed reactions from other parties.

The presidential alliance, which includes the Movement for a Peaceful Society, the National Liberation Front and the prime minister's National Democratic Rally welcomed the initiative, but did not specify which organisations they wanted to see represented.

Louisa Hanoune of the Workers' Party opposed participation from the NDI and OSCE, claiming their practices "rode roughshod over our national sovereignty".

A source close to the interior ministry told Magharebia the government called on organisations renowned for their neutrality and experience in the field, and questioned the "duplicity" of the RCD's statements. "This party was the first to call for observers to be present," he said, "and yet now that the president has satisfied this demand it has announced it will boycott the elections."

The Algerian public is largely apathetic. "The presidential elections are a foregone conclusion," said Amine, a university lecturer. "It's a bit like those Egyptian films where you know what the ending will be. The story of the presidential elections began with reforms to the constitution and will end with the appointment of Abdelaziz Bouteflika to the country's top job."

Assia, a civil servant, believes the matter of the observers is a side-issue: "Do the Algerian authorities really intend to hold fair elections? Do they want to listen to and defer to public opinion? These are the two main questions that will decide what I do on Election Day," she said.

"I'd like to see a change this time around," Assia continued. "Our young people need something to hope for, but I fear they're in for a disappointment in April."