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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 April 1999 Issue No. 425 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 15 - 21 April 1999 Issue No. 425
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The litmus test
Today's presidential elections in Algeria are certainly one of the most important political events of the decade. They are a turning point in the making of Algerian politics, and perhaps for the future of the Arab region as well.These elections are not simply a democratic effort to end the bloody vendetta between the Islamist groups, on one hand, and the government, backed by the army, on the other. These elections are also about the rotation of power in the Arab world -- a process many would consider an elusive dream. Now, Algeria is allowing elections in which candidates from different political backgrounds, Islamists included, are running for president.
True, the army, which dominates politics in most of the Arab republics, has its eye on a certain candidate and is willing to offer him unconditional support. The Islamists, however, can make or break a potential president.
What counts most, at any rate, are the repercussions of these elections. Many questions are still unanswered. Will the secular regime settle for a president who wants to Islamise Algeria? If not, what will it do? How will the Islamists read the results? After all, the leading Islamist candidate, Mahfouz Nahnah, was forbidden from running on the technicality -- fabricated, some say -- that he could not prove he had fought against the French occupation.
More importantly, will the newly elected president, irrespective of his political orientation, be able to break the vicious circle of violence while allowing the Islamists, who enjoy a wide support base within Algerian society, to assume their legitimate share of power? Finally, are most Algerians prepared to settle for just any president, so that the country can awake from its nightmare of violence?
The answers to these questions are crucial not only to the Algerians, but to other Arab countries, particularly those faced with the threat, past or present, of Islamist political movements that could accede to power. In fact, if the Algerian elections prove successful, perhaps other Arab countries will be prepared to take greater strides towards democratisation.
