Algeria's main Islamist parties have agreed to run as an alliance in May's parliamentary elections, increasing their chances of securing the largest number of seats, a party leader announced on Sunday. The alliance of three of the country’s often-divided Islamist parties raises the possibility that Algeria will follow in the footsteps of three other North African countries where Islamists have recently won at the ballot box. Abou Djara Soltani of the Movement of Society for Peace, Algeria's largest Islamist party, also invited other like-minded parties to join the alliance "to give the best possible chance for the Arab Spring to happen in Algeria as well."
There are a total of seven Islamist parties, four of which were recently approved by the government. Elections held in the wake of the pro-democracy uprisings that swept the Middle East over the past year have resulted in Islamist-dominated parliaments in Morocco, Tunisia, and especially Egypt. Soltani's party, along with al-Nahda and al-Islah, which together hold 72 seats in the 289-member parliament, will discuss presenting a single list of candidates and coordinating the placement of observers in polling stations. Most of the remaining seats are held by two secular, government-affiliated parties.
Algeria's secular authorities have downplayed the likelihood of an Islamist victory, arguing that the public is wary of religious parties. The last time an Islamist party was on the verge of winning parliamentary elections was in 1992, prompting a military coup that ignited a civil war between security forces and Islamist militants. Approximately 200,000 people died in the conflict. To this day, security forces continue to combat remnants of these insurgents, who pledged allegiance to al-Qaida in 2006. The government, backed by the same generals who orchestrated the coup, has attributed the "national tragedy" solely to the Islamic Salvation Front party, which remains banned.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and other top officials have expressed greater concern about voter apathy than an Islamist victory in the May 10 polls. Voter turnout in the 2007 elections was only 36 percent. Unlike its North African neighbors Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, protests in Algeria did not evolve into a widespread anti-government movement. However, there is significant discontent in this oil and gas-rich nation of 35 million, with frequent small-scale protests across the country over issues such as housing shortages, utility access, and police brutality.