About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 [1] (August 12, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbast0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service ~Informite legislative debate s ice 1914 Updated August 12, 2019 Algeria: In Focus Large peaceful protests in Algeria have upended the established political order since early 2019 and ushered in a new era of uncertainty. The protests first erupted in February in response to then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to seek a fifth term despite his evident ill health and advanced age (81 at the time). Bouteflika withdrew his reelection bid in March, then stepped down on April 2 after military chief of staff General Ahmed Gaid Salah-a onetime ally-called for his impeachment. Elections were originally scheduled for April 2019. Following Bouteflika's resignation, Algeria's parliament recognized Senate leader Abdelkader Bensalah as interim president, with elections to be held within 90 days, in line with constitutional succession provisions. In June, however, Algeria's Constitutional Council canceled elections planned for July 4 after disqualifying the only two candidates who had registered. Protesters have continued to take to the streets to demand more comprehensive political changes, albeit with few signs of consensus over process or outcome. No clear road map has emerged to end the stalemate between the street and the interim authorities, and it remains unclear who might credibly negotiate one. General Gaid Salah has positioned himself as a key power-broker without explicitly seizing control; Bensalah remains in office past the expiration of his 90-day mandate. Law enforcement bodies have simultaneously arrested prominent business leaders, military intelligence officials, and politicians, mostly on anticorruption charges; some, but not all, were seen as close to Bouteflika. Politics: Context Algeria withstood regional turmoil between 2011 and 2018, but the prospect of an uncertain leadership transition loomed large as members of the revolutionary generation' that fought for independence aged or passed away. The political system under Bouteflika was defined by a strong presidency and security apparatus, a state-centric economy, and social welfare programs fueled by oil and natural gas revenues. Decision-making was widely viewed as diffuse and opaque, with politicians, military and intelligence officers, and business leaders reportedly wielding influence (and engaging in rivalry) behind the scenes. This system brought relative stability and living standard improvements to a country wracked by internal conflict in the 1990s. Yet in recent years, analysts observed political paralysis due to a lack of elite consensus over the post-Bouteflika era. Bouteflika was first elected president in 1999, with military backing, as Algeria's decade-long counterinsurgency against armed Islamist groups was winding down. He introduced reconciliation initiatives and sought to exert greater presidential control over the army and powerful military intelligence service. Bouteflika was reelected to a fourth five-year term in 2014 despite having suffered a stroke that appeared to leave him physically debilitated. Figure I. Algeria at a Glance Source: CRS graphic; data from CIA World Factbook + IMF (2018). The bicameral parliament is institutionally weak and dominated by two parties that backed Bouteflika: the National Liberation Front (FLN), which led Algeria's fight for independence and was the sole legal party for decades, and the National Rally for Democracy (RND), considered close to the military. The political opposition is diverse and divided, comprising leftist, Islamist, Berber-led, and regionally focused groups. Many parties exhibit internal divisions. Some analysts argue that political Islam has been discredited in Algeria due to Islamists' role in the 1990s civil conflict, or-alternatively-due to some Islamist politicians' accommodation with the state. The Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), whose rapid electoral gains in 1991 sparked a military coup and the subsequent conflict, remains banned. Religiously conservative Salafist social movements have grown in prominence since the conflict. Terrorism and Counterterrorism Internal security has improved markedly since the civil conflict of the 1990s. Today, cells linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) are reportedly active in some areas, but the pace of terrorist attacks has continuously decreased. State security forces conduct frequent counterterrorism operations, and they have bolstered their presence in border regions since the outbreak of wars in Libya and Mali in 2011. The government also runs de-radicalization programs and has sought to control the content of religious sermons. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) originated as an insurgent faction in Algeria's 1990s conflict and aligned itself with Al Qaeda in 2006. An AQIM splinter faction claimed an assault in 2013 on a natural gas plant in southeastern Algeria in which 39 foreigners (including three Americans) were killed. AQIM's leader reportedly remains based in northeast Algeria, but the group's center of gravity has moved south and east over the past decade. In 2017, AQIM's southern branch joined a Malian-led coalition known as the Group for Supporting Islam and 'Ittps:of -; congress