The late registration of thousands of military voters is causing controversy in one southern Algerian province.
The late entry of 30,000 military personnel to electoral rolls in the Algerian wilaya of Tindouf is causing a debate between election monitors and the government.
Political parties have fallen in behind the National Commission for Monitoring Legislative Elections (CNSEL), which has complained of manipulation following the enrolment of thousands of military personnel after the deadline officially closed. Additionally, proof of change of residence for the added voters was not submitted, according to committee chairman Mohamed Seddiki, making double voting a possibility.
Responding to the accusations, Interior Minister Dahou Ould Kablia said Tuesday (March 6th) that the process of enrolling military personnel was "justified by the security situation in the region, which requires the army to be mobilised to ensure the borders are protected". The minister added that the region was "an exception because of the situation on the borders".
But Seddiki said the procedure was unlawful for a number of reasons.
The first of these was that the wilaya of Tindouf, which "has 45,000 residents, must not have more than 22,000 electors. Now, overnight, the wilaya finds itself with around 60,000 electors. So we are right to raise a number of questions."
He went on to wonder whether "these newly-enrolled electors have changed residence, as provided for in the regulations, and whether they have been removed from the list in their previous constituency".
Finally, the election monitor asked why group enrolment was being used when the law provides for electors away from home due to work - including soldiers - to appoint their close family members to act as their proxy in elections.
CNSEL also alleged that the number of electors has "risen by an abnormal amount" in other wilayas such as Tamanrasset, Adrar and Jijel. Added to which, the new voters appearing on the rolls were added after the February 21st deadline.
Following his minister's lead in answering the accusations, Mohamed Talbi, Director-General of Public Liberties and Legal Affairs at the Ministry of the Interior, rejected the criticism. Speaking on the radio Tuesday, he said that "the question of the electoral roll comes round every time there's an election."
He added that in the past there were questions about block voting in army barracks. That was removed so that soldiers can vote on the actual day of the election, according to Talbi. "In accordance with the law, members of the ANP have been enrolled within the scope of administrative and legal appeals," he said, adding that there were no enrolments after the regulatory deadline.
The interior ministry official reminded listeners of a provision in the recently passed elections law that he claimed allows further revisions beyond the legal deadline.
"Article 22 makes an additional period available to catch up with anything which could not be completed during the revision period, to allow the enrolment of anyone omitted from the electoral roll. If you have submitted a complaint that was rejected, and you have appealed through the courts, the law is there to enable you to exercise that right," the interior ministry representative pointed out.
The official said that election committees in the wilayas, chaired by magistrates, "will never take the risk of enrolling people before first striking them off the roll in their previous constituency".
Reacting to the controversy, the Islamist Society Movement of Peace (MSP) warned against the tendency to try to drag the army into political conflicts. In a statement, the party emphasised that the army "should not be exposed to criticism by involving it in a political issue which has already been debated".
Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia struck a similar tone during the opening session of the People's National Assembly last Sunday. "I am unhappy at the way political parties have been using this for propaganda. What suffers more than anything else is the credibility of the state and its people's army," he said.
© Magharebia.com 2012
