Â鶹¹ú²ú

In the aftermath of 2011’s Arab Spring, and following the implementation of some political and electoral reform measures, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika called for elections for the People’s National Assembly of Algeria â€” the lower house of the Parliament â€” on May 10, 2012. He invited several organizations, including Â鶹¹ú²ú, to observe the elections. 

Our Work and Methods

We sent a small group of experts to evaluate the general democratic environment and certain aspects of the electoral process, including:

• The legal framework
• The work of election administration and oversight bodies 
• The voter lists

Among the positive developments we noted:

• The institution of a magistrates commission and increased autonomy for the monitoring body.
• Mandatory quotas for women’s representation in elected bodies.

Impacts

Though the legal framework for Algeria’s elections proved generally adequate, the election process suffered from a lack of public confidence and citizen participation, driven in part by gaps in transparency.