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Summary Algeria's main ruling party took nearly half the seats in the elections.
The European Union observer mission on Saturday called Algerias elections an important step toward reform, though they said additional measures could have been taken to increase transparency and trust in the process.Algerias main ruling party took nearly half the seats in the elections, prompting the independent daily El Watan to describe the election result as the The Status Quo in a banner headline. The stunning victory came as a surprise after decades of parliaments more evenly split between several parties, including Islamists, and provoked an audible gasp from journalists when the results were announced Friday.An alliance of three Islamist parties that had expected to do well, according to their own observers at polling stations, cried fraud. The European Mission, however, said elections took place in an atmosphere of calm efficiency, though it did not describe them as free and fair.The elections mark an important first stage of reform, said the observer missions statement. The mission noted an atmosphere of general calm and order during the vote. The mission did suggest that a number of measures could be taken to increase the transparence of the process, including giving political parties access to the national voter registry. It had asked to see the registry as well, as part of its observation, and was flatly turned down by the Algerian Interior Ministry, which said the information was confidential.Mission head Jose Ignacio Salafranca said the mission regretted the decision, describing voting lists as an essential element of its work. According to an agreement we had with the Algerian government, we would have total access to information we received limited access, he said.Regarding the allegations of fraud, Salafranca suggested that the results of the individual voting stations that should have been made available to the political parties be consulted and compared to the announced results. The National Liberation Front, which led the country to independence from France in 1962 and was the sole political party until 1990, nearly doubled its presence in parliament by winning 220 seats in the 462 seat body.The National Democratic Rally, known by its French initials RND, and also made up of figures close to the regime, took another 69 seats, giving pro-government parties a comfortable 62 percent majority.The new parliament will be charged with implementing President Abdelaziz Bouteflikas political reforms, including a rewriting of the constitution. The two parties ran against the momentous changes taking place in the Arab world. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia of the RND called the Arab Spring a disaster and urged Algerians to vote for continuity.In the run-up to the election, Ouyahia and other government officials spoke of the Algerian Exception and expressed their confidence that the people would not vote for Islamist parties, such as those that have dominated other post-Arab Spring elections in North Africa.
