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Foreign observers to monitor Algeria vote

By Lyes Aflou for Magharebia in Algiers

While the Algerian government has called for international election monitors, some parties say the move shows lack of confidence in national institutions.
When Algeria holds legislative elections in May, the country will for the first time permit monitoring by international observers.

The European Union and the African Union recently accepted Algeria's invitation to observe the poll. According to Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, "the Arab League, the OIC and the UN "will join in this effort and...the Arab League and the OIC will do likewise".

"We are interested in improving the conditions in which these observers will work," Medelci told Liberte on January 10th. "We are in a situation where what we call the Arab Spring has exerted a positive influence on everyone to do better, including Algeria."

The chief diplomat commented that Algeria would not limit the number of observers and would sign a memorandum of understanding laying down the terms under which the monitoring mission will operate.

Head of EU delegation to Algeria Laura Baeza said on January 19th that the bloc would dispatch a group of envoys to witness the preparations for the poll and discuss with the government the conditions in which they would work.

The envoys will draw up a report prior to the signature of a memorandum of understanding, she added.

Similar arrangements will be made with the UN, Arab League, African Union and the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation.

For his part, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has ordered that these observers must be able to "work in complete freedom and move around with the staff that they may deploy with no restrictions whatsoever".

Algerian parties and political figures have differing views on the issue of foreign monitoring.

The opposition Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) has made its participation in the elections conditional on the presence of a large contingent of observers. Others, however, see it as an affront to national sovereignty, which shows a lack of confidence in Algerian institutions.

"They are not capable of guaranteeing transparent elections," Workers' Party Secretary-General Louisa Hanoune said about foreign monitors.

Her party favours "an overhaul, even if only partial, of the government" to boost the transparency of the electoral process.

"Giving a biased government the job of organising the elections will not help the state's efforts to guarantee fair elections," she told a national radio station on January 19th, referring to the parties within the presidential coalition.

Former Senate Deputy Speaker Zohra Drif-Bitat shared this view. "If foreign observers come to Algeria, this will compromise this country's dignity and sovereignty," she told APS.

"It is up to us to ensure that the elections run smoothly by restoring trust between the government and the governed," she added on January 21st. "Algerians can and must do this, because it's the only way that will enable the country to exercise and enjoy its sovereignty."

The job of foreign observers is "to protect the interests of their respective countries in different regions around the world", Drif-Bitat argued.

The National Liberation Front's position lies in the middle. While the ruling party does not object to seeing foreign observers, FLN counts on its own activists.

"The best guarantee that the elections will be credible is to have our activists monitoring every polling station and to ensure that the party is able to watch the process," said FLN press officer Aissa Kara.

© Magharebia.com 2012