Electoral System

General Features

Prior to the political opening that took place at the end of the 1980's, Algerian electoral politics and the institutions of state were entirely within the purview of the FLN. Since then and in spite of a number of purportedly democratic changes from one election to the next, Algeria's electoral system has never been entirely equitable and is far from offering candidates a fair playing field. Electoral management by the country's powerful Interior Ministry and electoral supervision by a judiciary whose impartiality is questionable are key shortcomings.

The country has different electoral systems for its different institutions: a two-round majority system for its presidential elections, a first-past-the-post system for its indirect upper house elections and a one-round proportional system for its lower house, local and provincial elections. Each has its different rules and restrictions as detailed below.

Elective Institutions

People's National Assembly

Fundamentals

Name of Institution: al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-Watani or People's National Assembly (APN)
Type of Institution: Lower house of bicameral parliament
Frequency of elections: Every five years

Legal & Administrative issues

Legal Framework for elections

Constitution: Articles 101-105
Electoral Legislation: 2012 Electoral Code - Law 12-01, in particular articles 84-98
Party Law: 2012 Political Party Law - Law 12-04

Electoral management bodies:

Body in charge of election process: Interior Ministry
Body in charge of monitoring election process: As of 2012, two new bodies monitor each election. (I): a National Commission for the Supervision of Legislative Elections (CNSEL) to supervise legal provisions, made up of judges appointed by the President. (II): a self-proclaimed independent National Commission for the Surveillance of Legislative Elections (CNISEL), to monitor the conduct of the electoral process, made up of party representatives.
Body responsible for definitive results: Constitutional Council
Body responsible for appeals & complaints: Constitutional Council
Body in charge of accepting candidates: Interior Ministry

Vacancies: Next candidate on electoral list of departed Member of Parliament is appointed

The vote

Voting system: List proportional representation
Method of seat allocation: Largest remainder method using the Hare quota
Electoral threshold: 5 percent at constituency (in this case, the wilaya) level
Balloting procedure: French ballot & envelope system
Others: proxy voting (allowed in some cases); "itinerant" polling stations in some desert provinces

Candidates & Districts

Number of elected officials & mode of designation: 462 directly elected members of parliament
Mode of candidacy: Closed, blocked lists, of either parties or independents
Constituencies: 48 national multi-member constituencies - the wilayas (provinces) are used as electoral districts. 4 international two-member districts for Algerian expatriates
District magnitude: Ranges between 5 and 37 seats per national district. In 2012 the average magnitude was 8. The law specifies 1 seat for every 80,000 inhabitants in a district + 1 extra seat for every fraction of 40,000. However, there is a minimum of 4 seats per district regardless of population, and districts with only 4 seats are automatically accorded an extra (5th) seat, as too in 2012 were those districts whose magnitude had remained unchanged since 1997 (Ordinance 12-01 13 February 2012)
Reserved seats: As of 2012, a quota of seats, varying according to population, is reserved for women
Electoral campaign: Official campaign lasts 21 days + 2 days for voter reflection

Eligibility

Entitlement to vote - voter eligibility

Requirements: 18 years of age, Algerian citizenship, Enrollment on electoral register, Full possession of civil & political rights
Disqualifications: Conviction for crime or offence entailing imprisonment and disfranchisement, Undischarged bankruptcy, Insanity, Objectionable conduct during national liberation revolution

Entitlement to stand - candidate eligibility

Requirements: 25 years of age, Algerian citizenship, Fulfilment of military service or excused therefrom, Enrollment as voter
Disqualifications: Non fulfillment of any of the above requirements
Incompatibilities: Judges, members of the armed forces, officials of security forces, accountants of wilaya public funds, high-ranking wilaya officials, membership of another people's assembly (all are also ineligible for one year after standing down).

Last elections: May 10th 2012

Presidency

Fundamentals

Name of Institution: Presidency of the Republic
Type of Institution: Presidency (Head of State)
Frequency of elections: Every 5 years

Legal & Administrative issues

Legal Framework for elections

Constitution: Articles 71-75
Electoral Legislation: 2012 Electoral Code - Law 12-01, in particular articles 132-148
Party Law: 2012 Political Party Law - Law 12-04 - Not relevant for presidential elections however.

Electoral management bodies:

Body in charge of election process: Interior Ministry
Body in charge of monitoring election process: As of 2012, two new bodies are set to monitor presidential elections. (I): a National Commission for the Supervision of Presidential Elections (CNSEP) to monitor legal provisions, made up of judges appointed by the President. (II): a National Commission for the Surveillance of Presidential Elections (CNSEP), to monitor the electoral process, made up of party representatives. In previous elections, a National Supervision Commission headed by a presidential appointee and featuring representatives of each candidate monitored the elections.
Body responsible for definitive results: Constitutional Council
Body responsible for appeals & complaints: Constitutional Council
Body in charge of accepting candidates: Constitutional Council

Vacancies: The head of the upper house of Parliament (Council of the Nation) will temporarily assume the presidency until new elections are held.

The vote

Voting system: Two-round majority system - in practice, a second round has never been necessary.
Balloting procedure: French ballot & envelope system
Others: Proxy voting (allowed in some cases); "itinerant" polling stations in some desert provinces

Candidates & Districts

Number of elected officials & mode of designation: 1, Direct election
Mode of candidacy: Single candidature (no vice-presidential ticket)
Constituencies: Single national constituency
Electoral campaign: Official campaign lasts 21 days + 2 days for voter reflection

Eligibility

Entitlement to vote - voter eligibility

Requirements: 18 years of age, Algerian citizenship, Enrollment on electoral register, Full possession of civil & political rights
Disqualifications: Conviction for crime or offence entailing imprisonment and disfranchisement, Undischarged bankruptcy, Insanity, Objectionable conduct during national liberation revolution

Entitlement to stand - candidate eligibility

Requirements: 40 years of age, Algerian citizenship (exclusively), Algerian citizenship of spouse, Muslim religion, Fulfilment of military service or excused therefrom, Enrollment as voter, Full possession of civil & political rights, Evidence of participation in the national liberation revolution (if born before July 1942) or evidence of the candidate's parents' non-involvement in actions hostile to the national liberation revolution (if born after July 1942), A declaration of personal wealth and real estate in Algeria & abroad. Also required: presentation of a signed pledge to uphold certain key national values (as detailed in 2012 Electoral Code, article 14) and a list of signatures – either those of 600 national or local elected parliamentary representatives from 25 wilayas, or, those of 60,000 enrolled voters from at least 25 wilayas with a minimum of 1,500 signatures per wilaya
Disqualifications: Non-fulfillment of any of the above requirements.
Incompatibilities: None

Last elections: 17th April 2014

Council of the Nation

Fundamentals

Name of Institution: al-Majlis al-Umma or Council of the Nation
Type of Institution: Upper House of Bicameral Parliament
Frequency of elections: Senators serve staggered six-year terms, with half the elected seats up for election each 3 years

Legal & Administrative issues

Legal Framework for elections

Constitution: Articles 101-105
Electoral Legislation: 2012 Electoral Code - Law 12-01, in particular articles 104-131
Party Law: 2012 Political Party Law - Law 12-04

Electoral management bodies:

Body in charge of election process: Interior Ministry, principally via the walis (governors)
Body responsible for definitive results: Constitutional Council
Body responsible for appeals & complaints: Constitutional Council
Body in charge of accepting candidates: Electoral Commission of each wilaya (province)

Vacancies: A bi-election is held in this case

The vote

Voting system: Simple majority (first past the post)
Balloting procedure: Marked ballot
Others: Voting is mandatory; proxy voting is allowed

Candidates & Districts

Number of elected officials & mode of designation: The House has 144 seats of which two thirds are elected and one third appointed by the President of the Republic. The 96 elected seats (one half are renewed every three years) are indirectly elected by some 15,000 local and provincial councillors who are also the only possible candidates.
Mode of candidacy: Individual candidacy
Constituencies: 48 single member constituencies - the wilayas (provinces) are used as electoral districts. Although each constituency has 2 senators, elections are staggered.
District magnitude: 1
Reserved seats for a group of people: The issue of quotas for female candidates has yet to be decided.
Electoral campaign: Campaign lasts 21 days + 2 days for voter reflection

Eligibility

Entitlement to vote - voter eligibility

Requirements: Elected member of a People's Wilaya Assembly or People's Commune Assembly
Disqualifications: Temporary suspension from office for legal proceedings

Entitlement to stand - candidate eligibility

Requirements: 35 years of age, Elected member of a People's Wilaya Assembly or People's Commune Assembly. If running for a political party, the candidate must present signed document from party leader backing candidacy.
Disqualifications: Temporary suspension from office for legal proceedings

Last elections: 29th December 2012

APC and APW

Fundamentals

Name of Institution: al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-wilaya or People's Wilaya Assembly & al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-baladi or People's Commune Assembly
Type of Institution: Provincial & Local Body Assemblies, respectively
Frequency of elections: Every 5 years

Legal & Administrative issues

Legal Framework for elections

Constitution: Articles 15-16
Electoral Legislation: 2012 Electoral Code - Law 12-01, in particular articles 65-83
Party Law: 2012 Political Party Law - Law 12-04

Electoral management bodies:

Body in charge of election process: Interior Ministry, by means of the wali (governor) of each wilaya
Body in charge of monitoring election process: As of 2012, two new bodies (with subordinate bodies at local level) monitor each election. (I): a National Commission for the Supervision of Local Elections (CNSEL) to monitor legal provisions, made up of judges appointed by the President. (II): a self-proclaimed independent National Commission for the Surveillance of Local Elections (CNISEL), to monitor the electoral process, made up of party representatives.
Body responsible for definitive results: Wilaya electoral commission
Body responsible for appeals & complaints: Wilaya administrative tribunal
Body in charge of accepting candidates: Interior Ministry, via the wali (governor) of each wilaya

Vacancies: Varies according to the rules & regulations of each wilaya &/or commune

The vote

Voting system: List Proportional Representation
Method of seat allocation: Largest Remainder Method using the Hare quota
Electoral threshold: 7% at constituency level (that is the wilaya in case of APW elections, the commune in case of APC elections)
Balloting procedure: French ballot & envelope system
Others: proxy voting (allowed in some cases)

Candidates & Districts

Number of elected officials & mode of designation: The total number of representatives varies from one assembly to the next according to population. In APC's it varies between 13 and 43 elected officials, and in APW's between 35 and 55. All are directly elected.
Mode of candidacy: Closed, blocked lists
Constituencies: There are 1541 local body and 48 provincial districts. The limits of these are the officially established districts of the Algerian territorial administration. All are multi-member districts.
District magnitude: Varies between 13 and 43 in the case of APC's and 35 and 55 in the case of APW's (the specifics are explained by articles 79 & 82 of 2012 Electoral Code).
Reserved seats for a group of people: As of 2012, a quota of seats in each assembly is reserved for women. The size of each quota varies (between 30 and 50%) according to demographics.
Electoral campaign: Official campaign lasts 21 days + 2 days for voter reflection

Eligibility

Entitlement to vote - voter eligibility

Requirements: 18 years of age, Algerian citizenship, Enrollment on electoral register, Full possession of civil & political rights
Disqualifications: Conviction for crime or offence entailing imprisonment and disfranchisement, undischarged bankruptcy, insanity, objectionable conduct during national liberation revolution

Entitlement to stand - candidate eligibility

Requirements: 23 years of age, Resident of the commune or province where standing, Algerian citizenship, fulfilment of military service or excused therefrom. It is necessary to form part of a list featuring as many candidates as seats in play. If the list does not represent one or more recognised political parties, the law requires presentation of a document signed by at least 5% of voters enrolled in that constituency.
Disqualifications: Same candidate running on more than one list. More than two members of same family on same list.
Incompatibilities: Walis (governors), Heads of Dairas (sub-division of the wilaya), Secretary Generals of the wilayas and the communes, High-ranking wilaya officials, Members of the National People's Assembly, Members of the armed forces, Officials of the security forces, Judges, Accountants of local public funds

Last elections: 29th November 2012