Algerians prepare for first free presidential election

November 15, 1995
Web posted at: 1:05 p.m. EST

From Correspondent Peter Humi in Paris

ALGIERS, Algeria (CNN) -- With thousands of extra army reservists called up for duty this week, Algeria more than ever resembles a huge military camp. The government deems the extra measures necessary as Algeria holds its first free presidential election on Thursday.

Despite the extra security, extremist fundamentalist groups have continued their attacks against the authorities, and are threatening to disrupt the voting and turn the polling stations "into coffins."

The banned Islamic Salvation Front, or FIS, has denounced the election as not only "irrelevant" but also "blasphemous." Other, more extremist militant groups such as the GIA have said anyone who voted would be considered a legitimate target.

To counter these threats the government has not only stepped up security to unprecedented levels but also has closed schools, canceled sporting events and shut down street markets.

Thursday's polling will be the first since January 1992, when parliamentary elections were annulled just as the FIS seemed to be heading for a decisive victory. Since then, the extremists have been trying to topple the military-backed government. Between 30,000 and 50,000 people have died in the civil war.

The struggle has affected the lives of everyone in Algeria-- children, women, intellectuals and workers alike. "They would like some political process to start again, because the chaos they've been living is so costly that anything that can initiate a new political process is welcomed," said Bassma Kodmani-Darwish of the French Institute for International Studies. "They would do everything to encourage it and make it succeed."

The security issue has overshadowed the fact that for the first time since independence, nearly 35 years ago, there is more than one candidate for the presidency in Algeria.

Incumbent Liamine Zeroual is favored but is challenged by three other candidates, including Mahfoud Nahnah, a moderate fundamentalist who spurns the violence espoused by the militants. Zeroual needs at least 50 percent of Thursday's vote to retain the presidency outright. Otherwise, he will face a second round of voting within four weeks. Sixteen million of Algeria's 28 million people are registered to vote, according to the Interior Ministry.

The election is being closely monitored not just by the international observers invited to Algeria to supervise the voting, but in capitals throughout northern Africa and Europe, as well.

The civil war in Algeria spilled over onto the streets of Paris this year. The French government has called on Zeroual to introduce a fully democratic process into Algeria. "He seems to have promised that to outside partners, mainly the United States and to France," Kodmani-Darwish said.

For Zeroual or whoever succeeds him, the main challenge is likely to come after the elections. Reconciling both fundamentalists and the conservative Algerian military will be the key to ending the bloodshed and bringing peace to Algeria.

Algerians prepare for first free presidential election

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