Algeria Junks Its Political As Well As Its Industrial Monopolies

By Jamal Amiar

For Algeria today the situation is clear: the time has come to junk both its political and its economic monopolies. In politics, where less than two years ago there was single party rule, today there are 30 political parties. In business, where most trade and production has been conducted ineffectively by state enterprises, the private sector is back and receiving official encouragement. Beginning on Jan. 1, Algeria will officially "adopt" the rules of a market economy.

In the realm of public liberties, the change is also astonishing. The press is flourishing, with no fewer than 36 daily and weekly newspapers in Algiers alone. Private radio stations may shortly also be authorized.

Finally, this perestroika "a I'Algerienne" is clearing the way for various investigations into allegations of corruption.

Obviously, the wheel of change has turned very rapidly since the bloody riots of October 1999 and the promulgation of a new constitution five months later, in February 1999. Algeria, mismanaged for decades, is now passionately serious about its democratic life.

Even the Islamists are Divided

Among the first things a visitor to Algiers or Oran notices is the absence of obtrusive signs of Islamic fundamentalism. Algerian women, for example, are neither more nor less veiled than Moroccan women in Casablanca or Tangiers. Restaurants serve beer, and French remains the language of business and casual conversation.

Since their massive victory in Algerian local elections last June 12, the Islamists have increased in numbers but are divided. The management by Islamist mayors elected in more than half of the country's towns has disappointed many of their followers, while the political party scene is also much more crowded than it was six months ago.

In Algeria today there are three Islamic political parties. The FIS (Islamic Front of Salvation), headed by Abbassi Madani; the I 'Al Irshad Wal Islah" movement, headed by Sheikh Mahfoud Nahnah; and the "Nalida" movement, headed by Abdellah Djaghloul.

Within the Islamic Front, Madani's leadership is now challenged by Ali Belhadj, a young and radical Imam from the Algiers neighborhood of Bab-el-Oued.

Still, a question remains in Algiers regarding the fundamentalist forces: is their division real, or a clever device to win enough votes on election day to set up a coalition within the parliament? Views differ on this issue, but there is agreement on one point: the Islamists remain a strong political force, and they will head more than half of the country's local councils until 1994.

The Liberal Sides

The majority of Algerian political parties today can be classified as Liberal-Democrat. They, however, are sharply divided. There are more than 20, and attempts to federate them all have failed, to date.

Six months ago, when the Islamic Front won a majority of the vote, the leaders of the FFS (The Front of Socialist Forces) and of the RCD (The Gathering for Culture and Democracy) each tried to create their own Liberal-Democrat federations. FFS leader Hocine Ait-Ahmed organized the Democratic Front, and RCD leader Saad Saadi, a former assistant to Hocine Ait-Ahmed, and 20 years his junior, created the Democratic Forum. With the coming of democracy, Saadi left his mentor to set up his own party. In Algeria today, democracy is young, resentments are deep, and the ambitious young leaders are merciless.

The Many "FLNs"

The FLN (National Liberation Front), the party that has led Algeria since independence, is the target of all attacks. Everyone and every newspaper reminds the visitor of what has gone wrong in Algeria. The bill of particulars includes assassination of opponents in Europe over the last decades, wide-scale corruption, the coup d'etat of 1965 against President-Elect Ahmed Ben Bella, the bloody riots of October 1988, shortages of basic foods and of housing, and "interviews" with the head of state that even today are "pre-prepared."

Last June, the FLN got 26 percent of the vote, and the Islamic Front received more than 55 percent.

The FLN's problems are illustrated by the existence today of four other political parties headed by former FLN men: Ahmed Ben Bella heads the MDA (The Movement for Democracy in Algeria), Hocine Ait Ahmed the FFS (The Front of Socialist Forces), Kasdi Merbah the MAJD (The Algerian Movement for Democracy and Justice), and Slimane Amirat the MDRA (The Democratic Movement for Algerian Renaissance). The FLN therefore faces fierce competition.

More Dollars and New Business Rules

Putting its faith in party renovation, as it clings to power until the next election, the FLN is also engaging in serious political reform, hoping for some early results. Betting on high oil prices, the present government wants to clear Algeria's financial situation with foreign creditors and reorganize the economy.

Over the last year or so, some 30 bills have been passed by the still 100-percent FLN parliament. Among other things, these new laws reorganize the chambers of commerce, the legal profession, foreign and national investment, and the banking and credit systems.

Another new law going into effect on Jan. 1 summarizes the new policies and hopes of Algeria. It is the Code of Commerce.

Consisting of 1,250 articles, the new text liberalizes commerce and distribution, investment and partnership rules, and, basically, gives business a capitalist legal framework. In 1991, Algiers also plans to inaugurate its first stock market, and make the national currency, the dinar, convertible, in order to facilitate increased trade and financial interaction with the rest of the world.

Gearing Up for Election Day

With parliamentary elections expected to be held before June 1991, campaigning already has begun in Algeria. If, with the politics of reform, present Prime Minister Mouloud Hamrouche hopes to retain his hold on power, the top priority of all other political parties is to have that same representative of the FLN out of power as soon as possible.

There are also many procedural decisions still to be made. No one yet knows which electoral districts will be reapportioned, whether voting will be one round or two, whether the system chosen will be proportional representation, and, in a country where men are used to making the decisions, who, exactly, will be eligible to vote. These decisions may well have as much influence on the final results as some of the more ephemeral issues presently preoccupying Algeria's rapidly increasing and vigorously contending parties.

Jamal Amiar is a US-educated radio journalist based in Tangier, Morocco.