Algeria – Hocine Bousaleh
Algerian Ennahda Movement on Wednesday called to delay local elections. They said the elections, scheduled for November 29, would be unsuccessful and they feared it would be as disastrous as last May’s elections. The May 10 legislative elections were met with widespread fury when the government’s ruling party won with an overwhelming majority of votes. Allegations of fraud surfaced soon after and all hope for democracy was ruled out. Members of the public and political officials are expecting a much better election to overcome that of May 10, Ennahda said in their statement. \"This is a time where the Algerian public want transparency and honesty in their government. They want to choose their own representatives and they must have a right to democracy,\" they said. Ennahda accused the government of being one sided and said it needed to be neutral and fair. They said political parties should unite to reorganise the political system in Algeria. Ennahda were outraged by the government\'s disregard of the national committee\'s recommendations about last May\'s results. They alleged the government will most likely rig the results of this year\'s elections as well.