Half-renewal elections for the Council of the Nation.
National Democratic Rally (RND) spokesman Seddik Chihab said on Wednesday that his party, which won 18 seats in Tuesday’s elections to renew half the elected members of the Council of the Nation, still retained what he described as its majority, with 43 members.
He told the Algerian Press Service that the RND had 25 members whose seats were not up for renewal, enabling it to maintain its position after winning another 18 seats. He expressed satisfaction with the results and said the party had achieved its objectives.
The RND congratulated its winning candidates across 18 provinces. In a statement on Wednesday, its general secretariat also praised local elected representatives in those provinces, saying they had achieved the result through their mobilization under the leadership of the relevant provincial offices.
The party’s national secretariat urged its new senators to maintain contact with citizens in their provinces and work in parliament to support the implementation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s program.
According to preliminary Interior Ministry results, the National Liberation Front (FLN) won 23 seats, followed by the RND with 18. Independents came third with 4 seats, the Socialist Forces Front fourth with 2, and the New Dawn Party won 1 seat.
The election, contested by 258 candidates, attracted 25,641 voters, a turnout of 95.35%. The electoral college consists of 26,892 elected members of municipal and provincial popular assemblies. Thirty political parties and 12 independent candidates took part.
The Council of the Nation has 144 members. Of these, 96, or two-thirds, are elected by secret indirect ballot. The president appoints the remaining 48, the presidential third, from national figures and people of distinction.
Ras Djennat Mayor Wins a Senate Seat
The half-renewal election in Boumerdes province, whose results were announced the evening before last, was won by Ras Djennat mayor and FLN candidate Nacer Ben Nabri with 150 votes. The report gives his margin over provincial assembly member Azzedine Ben Gana as 16 votes and states that Ben Gana received 123 votes.
Belaid Sid Ali, the Democratic Socialist Union candidate, came third with 123 votes. FFS candidate Mokrani Khaled received 47. Tidjelabine mayor Ibrahim Djiar, the Freedom and Justice Party candidate, and independent Ahmed Ouchaou received 19 votes each. Salem Amer received 8.
The provincial Directorate of Regulation and General Affairs mobilized the material and human resources needed for the election. Voting proceeded normally, with 555 of 585 municipal and provincial representatives taking part to choose among 7 candidates from different political groups.
Counting began at about 6 p.m. the evening before last, under the supervision of a five-member election-monitoring committee.
RND Defeats FLN in Relizane
The half-renewal election in Relizane, held the day before yesterday in the provincial headquarters’ conference hall, was won by RND candidate Mohamed Arbaoui with 256 votes. FLN candidate and El Kalaa municipal council president Kaloua Hamdache followed with 120. Independent Laid Bioud, who had broken with the FLN, came third with 91.
Nine candidates contested the election. Four represented the FLN, RND, Algerian Popular Movement and Movement of Society for Peace; the rest ran as independents.
The vote, supervised by the judiciary, drew 639 of 655 registered electors representing municipal and provincial councils. The supervising committee recorded 79 invalid ballots and 16 absent voters.
L. Hamza / L. Ziane