Algeria: proposal to parliament to remove suspicion in election results

Algerian parties announced yesterday for the first time that they had proposed amending the election law so as to prevent members serving in the army from voting at their work sites, along with the police members, and the security official members, in order to avoid what they call as falsifications in the presidential elections in April, 2004.

The Algerian minister of the interior expressed reservations over the amendment which was proposed by the National Reform Movement, the largest Islamic party in the parliament, and was approved on Sunday by the legal committee at the National People's Council ( Parliament), which includes representatives for political formations representing the largest party in the country.

A statement quoted from the council by the minister, during a meeting with the committee, as saying that abolishing the voting centers for army and security members will "negatively reflect on the election process, because many of them will abstain from voting." He stressed the need to avoid such action in that these offices are used by other voters as well.

However, al-Islah (Reform ) movement, which succeeded in November in passing an amendment on the financial law banning the import of alcohol, rejected the Intetior Minister's justifications. Deputy chairman of the people's council and prominent figure in the movement, Khuder Bin Khilaf, said "the military and police can vote by assignment (current elections law allow assigning members of the families to vote on their behalf). We want to establish a democratic regime. We seek to keep the military establishments away from suspicion, so as to focus interest on constitutional missions and leave politics to politicians." Bin Khilaf said that his party proposed other amendments related to the process of the election operation itself.