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1 [1] (December 19, 2019)

handle is hein.crs/govbezw0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 01;0 : ri - -SE .$ - i< . gogn, q goo g , q as ' X 11LULANJILiN, Updated December 19, 2019 Algeria Large peaceful protests forced Algeria's long-standing president to resign in early 2019 and continue to prompt questions about the country's political stability and future. Abdelmadjid Tebboune was declared the winner of presidential elections held on December 12, with historically low turnout of 40%. A previous cabinet minister and prime minister (for a short time in 2017), Tebboune ran as an independent and is seen by some observers as close to military leaders; Algeria's two largest political parties endorsed a rival candidate. Protesters have continued to take to the streets, decrying the election process as illegitimate, Tebboune as representing political continuity, and military leaders for steering the transition process in recent months. Dozens of protesters have been arrested since mid-2019 on various, often vague charges. Police and protesters clashed violently on election day. The protests began in February 2019, sparked by then- President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to seek a fifth term despite his evident ill health and advanced age (81), in a vote then due in April. Bouteflika withdrew from the race in March, then resigned on April 2 after military chief of staff General Ahmed Gaid Salah (a onetime ally) called for his impeachment. Law enforcement has since arrested prominent business, military intelligence, and political party figures on corruption and state security charges. A presidential vote was initially scheduled for July 2019, then canceled when the Constitutional Council disqualified the two candidates who had registered. General Gaid Salah, who has positioned himself as a power broker without explicitly seizing control, strongly backed the December 12 election date and process, and characterizing protests as the dangerous product of outside interference. Algeria remained politically stable amid regional turmoil between 2011 and 2018, but the prospect of an uncertain leadership transition loomed as members of the revolutionary generation that fought for independence from France aged. A strong presidency and security apparatus, a state-centric economy with an emerging oligarchic business class, and social welfare programs fueled by oil and natural gas revenues have defined the political system. Decisionmaking under Bouteflika was often opaque, with politicians, security officials, and business leaders reportedly wielding influence. This system brought relative stability and living standard improvements to a country wracked by violence in the 1990s. In recent years, however, 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 conflict with Islamist armed groups was waning. He introduced reconciliation initiatives and sought to exert greater control over the army and intelligence service. Figure I. Algeria at a Glance Popu ration 4 . iI, ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::i < 41 7 m ia .4 ...... ::::::::::::::::::::: ~..... ...... .. .. . ..iiii:! LSource CRArapc; dataZk flo CI oldFbol''M (.1) T he bica el pariamtis isiuinlywa n Rdomint bysr wo arties: phedNorna LiertonFrn LN), ich ethe 1 i, 12i Life Expectancy: 77 v r, Pepmdation Under R ) Yeared O los t a wLteracy: The pote comprising leftit IslmsBr -eadrgoal UnnI cvwt 31.6%t Sources: CRS graphic; data from CIA World Factbook + IMF (2018). The bicameral parliament is institutionally weak and dominated by two parties: the National Liberation Front (FLN), which led the fight for independence and was the sole legal party for decades, and the National Rally for Democracy (RND), considered close to the military. Both parties formally backed former Minister of Culture Azzedine Mihoubi in the December 2019 presidential race, who lost. 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 aternatively 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. 2011. Th ovenm en alornkd-aialztoporm 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 since the early 2000s. 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), a regional network, originated as a faction in Algeria's 1990s conflict and aligned itself with Al Qaeda in 2006. 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. An AQIM splinter faction claimed an assault in 2013 on a natural gas plant in southeast Algeria in which 39 foreigners (including three Americans) were killed. In 2017, AQIM's southern branch joined a Malian-led coalition known as the Group for Supporting Islam and Muslims (JNIM after its transliterated Arabic name). AQIM elements and offshoots are also active in Libya and Tunisia.

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