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1 [1] (June 23, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedtv0001 and id is 1 raw text is: C o g e s i n l R e e r h e v c Updated June 23, 2021 Algeria More than two years after nationwide protests forced longstanding President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down, questions remain about the future of Algeria's political system and state-centric economy, which revolves around oil and gas exports. President Abelmadjid Tebboune (75), a former prime minister, was elected in late 2019 to succeed Bouteflika, but some observers question his legitimacy and influence within the complex elite networks known in Algeria as le pouvoir (the powers that be). Tebboune won nearly 60% of the vote but turnout was under 40%; his reputed patron, army chief of staff General Ahmed Gaid Salah, died soon after; and the president spent months in hospitals abroad after contracting COVID-19 in late 2020. President Tebboune has pledged reforms and a new Algeria, but structural changes have proven elusive. A new constitution adopted by referendum in late 2020 did not significantly alter the political system or expand civil liberties. In any case, core aspects of Algeria's governance-such as the influence wielded by top figures in the state security apparatus and energy sector-are not directly rooted in constitutional prerogatives. In early 2021, President Tebboune dissolved the lower house of parliament and called legislative elections for June 12, a year ahead of schedule. Turnout, at 23%, was historically low, reflecting apparent voter apathy and calls for a boycott from some opposition parties and the protest movement. The National Liberation Front (FLN), the largest party under Bouteflika, again won a plurality of seats, though its share (26%) has declined in recent cycles. The largely leaderless protest movement, known as the hirak (movement), began in February 2019 and initially bridged regional, ethno-linguistic, class, and ideological divisions. Protests withered in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, pressure from authorities, fatigue among many citizens, and internal disputes over tactics and goals. Smaller numbers of protesters have gathered since early 2021 to express continued demands for more accountable and transparent governance. Authorities have oscillated between conciliatory moves-such as prisoner releases and offers of dialogue-and repression, including mass arrests and the prosecution of prominent organizers and journalists for crimes such as harming national unity. In May 2021, the government announced a ban on unauthorized demonstrations, expanding existing restrictions on freedom of assembly. COVID-19. As of June 2021, Algeria had reported fewer cumulative COVID-19 cases per capita than neighboring Morocco or Tunisia, but also had given far fewer tests per capita. The country has seen a gradual third wave of cases since April 2021. Algeria has received vaccine doses through the multilateral COVAX initiative and bilaterally from China and Russia. Some COVID-related lockdown measures, including travel restrictions, remain in place. The pandemic has worsened preexisting economic strains. Figure I. Algeria at a Glance Source: CIA World Factbook, IMF; 2020 estimates unless noted Political Context. Algeria remained comparatively stable between 2011 and 2018 amid turmoil elsewhere in North Africa, but the prospect of an uncertain leadership transition loomed. Elected in 1999 as a decade of conflict with Islamist militants was winding down, President Bouteflika oversaw national reconciliation initiatives along with infrastructure and living standard improvements funded by oil and gas revenues. Official decisionmaking was often opaque and subject to apparent factional disputes, while the rise of an oligarchic business class spurred corruption concerns. Despite signs of advanced illness, Bouteflika was reelected in 2014 and sought reelection in 2019. Observers perceived an elite impasse over who might succeed him, as members of the politically dominant revolutionary generation-who participated in Algeria's anticolonial war against France-age and pass away. The leading parties in parliament are the FLN, which led the fight for independence and was the sole legal party for decades (105 out of 407 seats), the Islamist Movement of Society for Peace (64 seats), and the National Rally for Democracy (57 seats), considered close to the military. None backed Tebboune in the 2019 election. The opposition is diverse and divided, comprising leftist, Islamist, Berber-led, and regionally focused parties. Some analysts argue that Islamism has been discredited in Algeria due to armed Islamists' role in the 1990s conflict, or alternately due to some Islamists' accommodation with the state. The Islamic Salvation Front, whose electoral gains in 1991 sparked a military coup and the subsequent conflict, remains banned. Religiously conservative Salafist social movements have grown in prominence in recent decades. Terrorism and Counterterrorism Cells linked to Al Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) are reportedly active in some areas, but the pace of terrorist attacks has decreased continuously since the early 2000s. State security forces have conducted frequent ittps://trsreports.congress.gc

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