Louisa Hanoune between Opposition and Collaboration

Louisa Hanoune has come out well. The head of the Trotskyite Workers’ Party turned out in second place in Algeria’s recent presidential election on 9 April. Her candidacy, which saw opposition from the ranks of Algeria’s historical opposition parties and some former supporters, placed her well in light of the regime and with some abroad. Importantly, they provide her with a basis from which to oppose the regime whilst providing her national name recognition and notoriety.

In 2004, she came in second to last, with only 1% of the vote. Bouteflika handsomely defeated all of his competitors, the most prominent of them being his former deputy Ali Benflis who enjoyed backing from some military hardliners alienated by Bouteflika’s consolidation and reconciliation program. But in 2009, she faced little trouble: The other major opposition parties boycotted — notably the FFS and RCD — and the “Islamist” candidates were little known or unpopular. The “nationalist’ candidates suffered obscurity or a lack of credibility. In a race where all the participants were seen as legitimizing a fraudulent process, Hanoune was in a better place among urban voters than her opponents and, because of her previous run, she was probably more recognizable elsewhere.

Mauritania briefly

Below is a quick roundup of a few relevant points on Mauritania, readers are encouraged to contribute their thoughts and insights, as recently my attention has been directed elsewhere.

Does anybody know if General Abdel Aziz can swim?

I am told he has built a large new home, complete with a swimming pool.

Why the Durban Walk Out does not matter

O, praeclarum custodem, ovium lupum! — Cicero

Notice that the Western media has obsessed over the Western walk out during Ahmadinejad’s speech at Durban II. In the first place, the conference’s overall irrelevance must be noted, as those countries with the most serious issues are not by and large represented by credible representatives (this includes in particular those African and Asian states with the most tortured histories of colonial occupation and attempted extermination, many of whom today practice heavy discrimination against their own citizens and residents) and the Western countries that bothered to show up have demonstrated their indifference to the problems of racial discrimination and oppression previously in the conduct of their foreign policy, and in many cases even their domestic policy (one need look no further than the place of the Roma in southern and eastern Europe, for instance; let us see what will be done for these at Durban; we should not even raise Australia’s indigenous peoples). This considered, the Walk Out is irrelevant.

Celebration

Berriane Update: Truce breaks down

Violence resumed in Berriane Wednesday night, injuring as many as 20 people, according to El Khabar. According to RFI, clashes Arab youths began to clash with police over a parking dispute, during the course of which Mzabite youths became involved. RFI also mentions that “skirmishes took place this weekend … but they were controlled quickly unlike those of Wednesday evening.”

Bouteflika: Victory over the People

A Triumph of the Will.

The results of the Algerian presidential election are in. Abdelaziz Bouteflika topped the polls with 90.24% of the vote, followed by Louisa Hanoune in second place. The results are as follows, from El Moudjahid:

• Abdelaziz Bouteflika: 90.24%
• Louisa Hanoune: 4.22%
• Moussa Touati: 2.31%
• Djahid Younsi: 1.37%
• Ali Fawzi Rebiane: .93%
• Mohamed Said: .92%

“So as to strengthen the friendship between the two countries”

Obama in Turkey.

Barack Obama’s address to the Turkish parliament was impressive. It was the promised speech in a Muslim capital: But it was not simply that, which is precisely why it was so fine. It was well tailored to its audience. It included praise for Turkey’s secular democracy, affirmed Turkey’s European position, tread lightly on the genocide issue, spoke specifically on common economic and strategic interests and included the much lauded lines  ”the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam”. He cast American relations with the Muslim world outside of the lens of terrorism and al-Qaeda.

The dutiful mishandling of US-Turkish relations under the last administration strained ties between the two countries, and the Islamist-oriented AK government caused many in the Bush administration to look at Turkey with a skeptical eye. Obama’s speech alone will not repair these ties, and it will take much work to change popular perceptions of the United States in Turkey. But it is not impossible, and his trip was a step in the right direction.

On its way: La heya wala heshm

As the Algerian election campaign continues, candidates grumble and squirm. To legitimize that which is not legitimate is not as easy as it seems.

Fawzi Rebiane  is continuing to accuse the state of stepping into the electoral campaign, accusing state officials of ”actively campaigning” on the president’s behalf. It might be fitting for Rebiane to add Reuters to his list of complicit outlets: One of its latest pieces reads like an El Moudjahid article, casting Bouteflika’s likely victory as “a reward for stability”. A more accurate description would be a “reward for consolidation and cheating.”

A Cakewalk

The Algerian presidential campaign is dominated by Abdelaziz Bouteflika, substantively and visually. So vigorous has been his campaign that Boutelfika skipped the Arab Summit in Doha, sending FM Medelci instead. Others have attempted to initiate their own narratives — this is implicit in Hanoune’s, as she is a Trotskyite, and it is increasingly clear in Mohamed Said’s campaign, though he was an remains a relative unknown. Touati has for the most part tried to coopt Bouteflika’s platform using a different face, and Younsi and Rebiane have used their campaigns as platforms to attack the regime, with the former’s platform being the more dissident of the two, ideologically speaking. He are the dominant trends in Bouteflika’s campaign. Note that most of the candidates have followed this template as well, as the race is structured such that their efforts re-enforce Bouteflika’s dominant position. Such are “elections” in Algeria, and elsewhere.

WINEP on Algeria

From the Washington Institute on Near East Policy. Known for its [highly] partisan work on the Levant, it has yet produced several useful reports on North Africa, primarily with regards to Algeria and terrorism in North Africa. As American reportage and writing on North Africa is as a rule preoccupied with al-Qaeda and other terrorist networks in the region, it is refreshing to see reports dealing expressly with Algeria as it is and not in the context of some relatively contrived set of terminology that has little baring “on the ground”. Written by Dana Moss, known for her Libya work (readers may make of it what they will), the paper is titled “Elections in Algeria: Bouteflika Wins, Legitimacy Loses” and it is quite good. Beyond The Economist‘s gloomy but “stable” conclusion, Moss writes that the situation is stable in the short term but a lack of strong institutions and good governance make longer term prospects uncertain. I agree with this assessment.

Berriane update

A road map and preamble to a charter of peace between Ibadites and Malikites was signed by respective representatives, and the Wali of Ghardaia Yahia Fehim and Daho Ould Kablia, Minister of Local Development and Water Resources on Wednesday. Ould Kablia said the pact would “enable the region to regain its legendary calm, allowing it to return to the path of prosperity.”