|
Algeria
Local and Regional Government
The system of local government existing in the early 1990s was
established under Boumediene in the late 1960s. The decentralization
of local government during the latter period provided an alternative
focus to the concentration of power in the highly centralized
single-party apparatus and in Boumediene's own personalist rule.
An extensive system of administration restricted the autonomy
and independent action of provincial and local assemblies. Communal
and provincial councils are generally confined to purely administrative
and/or distributive functions, rubber stamping national government
initiatives. Political campaigning was the responsibility of the
FLN, not the individual candidates; this system eliminated electoral
competition and resulted in a lethargic and apathetic administrative
government at the local and regional levels despite the FLN's
initial mandate to "politicize the masses." Voter turnout at local
elections has generally been low. In contrast, in Algeria's first
multiparty elections in June 1990, almost two-thirds of the population
participated.
Data as of December 1993
|
