Algeria: 23 persons killed, opposition boycotts elections, confrontations in al-Qabael
Algeria, Politics, 5/31/2002

The Algerians on Thursday experienced a new election test in the hope of ending past problems, but disagreement on how to solve them are still present.

It seemed that the calls by some to boycott the election succeeded. A fact which was seen in the announcement of the ministry of the interior to extend for two hours, on late Thursday evening, the opening of the voting boxes after it announced that the turnout reached 25% while it was in Teizi Ozo province only 2%.

The Algerians cast their votes in general elections boycotted by the main opposition parties and the Berbers whose areas witnessed clashes between protesters and the security forces while armed Islamists killed 23 civilians just few hours before the beginning of the voting.

The opposition parties said the elections will witness great fraud.

This is, however, the second elections in Algeria to be carried out in Algeria after the crisis that resulted from the authority -- then supported by the army -- canceled the elections of 1992 and this resulted in the eruption of acts of violence by Islamists who were expected to win the elections. The lists of the voters contain 18 million citizens who are eligible to vote to choose 289 members at the national people's council. Some 10052 candidates are competing representing 23 political parties and independent lists on the seats of the council ( parliament).

The Algerian news agency reported that "a terrorist group" raided just few hours from the beginning of the voting the village of Sandjas in al-Shalf state 100 km to the west of the capital. The agency added that the attackers burned the corpses of three of the killed persons.

Previous Stories:
  Algerians vote for new parliament today   (5/30/2002)
  Ballot centers for Algerian community in Syria; part of legislative elections   (5/29/2002)
  King Mohammed received Algerian foreign minister   (5/27/2002)

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