ALGIERS: Algeria's FLN, long the country's biggest political party, won the most seats in Saturday's parliamentary election, the head of the electoral authority said on Tuesday.
Fewer than a third of registered voters took part in the election, which the long dominant establishment had seen as part of its strategy to move beyond two years of mass protests and political turmoil.
The protests that erupted in 2019 demanded the ousting of the ruling elite, an end to corruption and the army's withdrawal from politics. While authorities praised the demonstrations as a moment of national renewal, they also cracked down with arrests.
"The dynamic of peaceful change that was launched (with the protests) is being strengthened," electoral authority head Mohamed Chorfi said, referring to the election.
The FLN's 105 seats were far short of the 204 needed to secure a majority in the 407-seat parliament, with the Islamist MSP winning 64 seats, another former ruling coalition party, the RND, winning 57, and independent candidates taking 78 seats.
However, most of the elected members of parliament are expected to support President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's programme, including economic reforms.
Islamist parties had hoped to benefit from the unrest of the past two years of protests that pushed the veteran president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, from office and led to the jailing of numerous senior officials.
But the biggest difference from previous elections was the much larger number of independents winning seats in parliament, with Islamists retaining about the same share as previously.
The leaderless "Hirak" mass protest movement boycotted the vote, as it had the 2019 election that installed Tebboune in place of Bouteflika.
Hirak has said any vote that takes place while the current establishment remains in place, and while the army interferes in politics, cannot be fair.
While elections before Hirak's rise had higher official turnout figures, they were still often marked by a large number of abstentions.
The make-up of the new parliament is expected to shape the next government, which will face a looming economic crisis with Algeria having spent more than four fifths of its foreign currency reserves since 2013.
Algeria's FLN wins most seats in parliament, election authority says
https://arab.news/jta6n
Algeria's FLN wins most seats in parliament, election authority says
- Fewer than a third of registered voters took part in the election
- The leaderless "Hirak" mass protest movement boycotted the vote
Israel’s Supreme Court suspends govt move to shut army radio
- Israel’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order suspending a government decision to shut down Galei Tsahal, the country’s decades-old and widely listened-to military radio station
JERUSALEM: Israel’s Supreme Court has issued an interim order suspending a government decision to shut down Galei Tsahal, the country’s decades-old and widely listened-to military radio station.
In a ruling issued late Sunday, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit said the suspension was partly because the government “did not provide a clear commitment not to take irreversible steps before the court reaches a final decision.”
He added that Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara supported the suspension.
The cabinet last week approved the closure of Galei Tsahal, with the shutdown scheduled to take effect before March 1, 2026.
Founded in 1950, Galei Tsahal is widely known for its flagship news programs and has long been followed by both domestic and foreign correspondents.
A government audience survey ranks it as Israel’s third most listened-to radio station, with a market share of 17.7 percent.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had urged ministers to back the closure, saying there had been repeated proposals over the years to remove the station from the military, abolish it or privatise it.
But Baharav-Miara, who also serves as the government’s legal adviser and is facing dismissal proceedings initiated by the premier, has warned that closing the station raised “concerns about possible political interference in public broadcasting.”
She added that it “poses questions regarding an infringement on freedom of expression and of the press.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that Galei Tsahal broadcasts “political and divisive content” that does not align with military values.
He said soldiers, civilians and bereaved families had complained that the station did not represent them and undermined morale and the war effort.
Katz also argued that a military-run radio station serving the general public is an anomaly in democratic countries.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid had condemned the closure decision, calling it part of the government’s effort to suppress freedom of expression ahead of elections.
Israel is due to hold parliamentary elections in 2026, and Netanyahu has said he will seek another term as prime minister.
