Algeria flag Algeria: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of Algeria

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President-elect: Abdelmadjid Tebboune (since 19 December 2019)
Prime Minister: Nadir Larbaoui (since 11 November 2023)
Next Election Dates
Presidential: 2029
Council of the Nation: 2025
National People's Assembly: June 2026
Current Political Context
After former President Bouteflika’s forced resignation in 2019 in the wake of the Hirak protests, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who also had the support of the army, was elected President. He won a second five-year term with 84.3% of the votes in the presidential elections held in Algeria on 7 September 2024. He was challenged by Youcef Aouchiche of the Socialist Forces Front and Abdellah Hassan Cherif from the Movement of Society for Peace. The elections were marred by an unprecedented abstention rate and considerable confusion over voter turnout figures.
 Since severing diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021 and closing the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline, Algeria's tensions with its neighbour have intensified, particularly over Western Sahara and Morocco's normalization of relations with Israel. In September 2024, Algeria reimposed visa requirements on Moroccan nationals, citing security concerns. Diplomatic relations with Spain were suspended in 2022 after Spain shifted its stance on Western Sahara, aligning more closely with Morocco's position. Despite these tensions, Algeria continues to balance its foreign relations, maintaining strong ties with Russia, its primary arms supplier, while also negotiating with Western nations.
Main Political Parties

Following liberalisation of the electoral law in 1997, dozens of political parties entered the parliamentary sphere. Still, most political power is concentrated in the President-backed National Liberation Front (FLN).

  • National Liberation Front (FLN): left-wing, secures about half of parliamentary seats; previously the only legally permitted party
  • Democratic National Rally (RND): centrist, liberal; initially created by the military as an alternative party, but still remains closely aligned to the FLN
  • Future Front (FM): centrist, nationalist
  • National Construction Movement (Binaa): Islamic democracy, Algerian nationalism

The main opposition parties include:

  • Movement of the Society for Peace (MSP): Sunni Islamism, Islamic democracy, aligned with the international Muslim Brotherhood
  • Voice of the People Party (PVP): led by Lamine Osmanie, a former member of the Algerian National Front
  • Justice and Development Front (FJD): right-wing, inspired by the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Executive Power
The President of the Republic is the Head of State. He is directly elected by direct universal suffrage by absolute majority in two rounds if needed for a 5-year term (renewable once). He appoints the Prime Minister after consultation with the majority party in the Parliament and the Government at the suggestion of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister sets the amount of the State's expenses and revenue and prepares some bills.
Legislative Power
Parliament is bicameral and composed of the Council of the Nation (Majlis al-Umma) and the National Popular Assembly (al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-Watani). The Council (upper house) has 174 seats, 116 members are indirectly elected in secret ballot (2/3) and 58 are appointed by the President of the Republic (1/3). Its members serve a six-year term with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years. The Assembly (lower house) has 407 members directly elected by the population to serve 5-year terms, of which 8 are elected among Algerians living abroad.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
146/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Not Free
Political Freedom:
6/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: February 2025