Research Africa > North of Africa > Algeria > Politics

Politics        0  733 reads

Type of the Government
Republic

Independence
July 5, 1962 (from France)

Administrative divisions
48 provinces (wilayat; singular, wilaya)

Suffrage
18 years of age; universal

National holiday
Independence Day, July 5, 1962

Revolution Day
November 1, 1954


1) Government
 

Administrative divisions
 48 provinces (wilayat, singular - wilaya); Adrar, Ain Defla, Ain Temouchent, Alger, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Blida, Bordj Bou Arreridj, Bouira, Boumerdes, Chlef, Constantine, Djelfa, El Bayadh, El Oued, El Tarf, Ghardaia, Guelma, Illizi, Jijel, Khenchela, Laghouat, Mascara, Medea, Mila, Mostaganem, M'Sila, Naama, Oran, Ouargla, Oum el Bouaghi, Relizane, Saida, Setif, Sidi Bel Abbes, Skikda, Souk Ahras, Tamanghasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Tindouf, Tipaza, Tissemsilt, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen
Ambassadors from Finland > Current Finnish Ambassadors > Ambassador Kaija Ilander
Capital city Algiers
Capital city > Geographic coordinates 36 45 N, 3 03 E
Capital city > Name Algiers
Capital city > Time difference
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Constitution
 8 September 1963; revised 19 November 1976, effective 22 November 1976; revised 3 November 1988, 23 February 1989, 28 November 1996, and 12 November 2008
Copyright > Reference Arts. 54 & 59,
Corruption 2.8 [101st of 160]
countries' copyright length > Usual term of copyright protection
 50 pma;
photographs 50 pr
Diplomatic representation from the US > Chief of mission
 Ambassador David D. PEARCE
Diplomatic representation from the US > Embassy
 05 Chemin Cheikh Bachir, El-Ibrahimi, El-Biar 16000 Algiers
Diplomatic representation from the US > FAX [213] 21-60-7355
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address
 B. P. 408, Alger-Gare, 16030 Algiers
Diplomatic representation from the US > Telephone [213] 770-08-2000
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chancery
 2118 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation in the US > Chief of mission Ambassador Abdallah BAALI
Diplomatic representation in the US > FAX [1] (202) 667-2174
Diplomatic representation in the US > Telephone [1] (202) 265-2800
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Address 500 Wilbrod St.
embassies and high commissions in Ottawa > Neighbourhood Sandy Hill
Executive branch > Cabinet
 Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president
Executive branch > Chief of state
 President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA (since 28 April 1999)
Executive branch > Election results
 Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for second term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 85%, Ali BENFLIS 6.4%, Abdellah DJABALLAH 5%
Executive branch > Elections
 president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a third term under 2008 amendment to constitution); election last held 8 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2009); prime minister appointed by the president
Executive branch > Head of government
 Prime Minister Ahmed OUYAHIA (since 23 June 2008)
Flag description
 two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and white; a red, five-pointed star within a red crescent centered over the two-color boundary; note: the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam (the state religion)
Foreign relations > Croatia > Date of Establishment October 15, 1992
Foreign relations > Nepal > Date of Establishment April 29, 1968
Foreign relations of Western Sahara > States recognizing the SADR > Date of recognition March 6, 1976
General government final consumption expenditure > annual % growth 4.7 % [41st of 147]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$ 9,488,026,000 constant 2000 US$ [37th of 145]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant 2000 US$ (per capita) 288.795 constant 2000 US$ per c [55th of 146]
General government final consumption expenditure > constant LCU 52103630000
General government final consumption expenditure > current LCU 910000000000
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ 12,418,800,000 $ [41st of 169]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per $ GDP) 0.121 $ per $1 of GDP [95th of 184]
General government final consumption expenditure > current US$ (per capita) 378.002 $ per capita [69th of 184]
Government type republic
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom Andrew Tesoriere
Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom > Resident Heads of Missions > Type Embassy
Independence 5 July 1962 (from France)
Independence Day > Date July 5
International organization participation
 ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, BIS, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAS, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, OPEC, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Judicial branch Supreme Court
Key ministers > Agriculture Said Berkat
Key ministers > Finance Mourad Medelci
Key ministers > Justice Tayeb Belaiz
Key ministers > Transport Mohammed Meghlaoui
Legal origin
French
Legal system
 socialist, based on French and Islamic law; judicial review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
 bicameral Parliament consists of the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Al-Shabi Al-Watani (389 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote; to serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years)
Legislative branch > Election results
 National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 136, RND 61, MSP 52, PT 26, RCD 19, FNA 13, other 49, independents 33; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 29, RND 12, MSP 3, RCD 1, independents 3, presidential appointees (unknown affiliation) 24; note - Council seating reflects the number of replaced council members rather than the whole Council
Legislative branch > Elections
 National People's Assembly - last held 17 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 28 December 2006 (next to be held in 2009)
National holiday
 Revolution Day, 1 November
Parliamentary seats > Female 3% [123rd of 143]
Policy uncertainty > % of managers surveyed ranking this as a major business constraint 38.81 % [4th of 38]
political parties > Multi party •
Political parties and leaders
 Ahd 54 [Ali Fauzi REBAINE]; Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa TOUATI]; Islamic Salvation Front or FIS (outlawed April 1992) [Ali BELHADJ, Dr. Abassi MADANI, Rabeh KEBIR]; National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]; National Entente Movement or MEN [Ali BOUKHAZNA]; National Liberation Front or FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general]; National Reform Movement or Islah (formerly MRN) [Mohamed BOULAHIA]; National Renewal Party or PRA [Mohamed BENSMAIL]; Rally for Culture and Democracy or RCD [Said SADI]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait AHMED]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Ahmed KHELIL]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boudjerra SOLTANI]; Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]; note: a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997
Political parties and leaders > A note
 a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997
Political parties and leaders > Note
 a law banning political parties based on religion was enacted in March 1997
Political pressure groups and leaders
 The Algerian Human Rights League or LADDH [Hocine ZEHOUANE]; SOS Disparus [Nacera DUTOUR]; Somoud [Ali MERABET]
Prime minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem
Procedures to build a warehouse > number 25 [19th of 168]
Procedures to build a warehouse > number (per capita) 0.761 per 1 million people [125th of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number 49 [24th of 170]
Procedures to enforce a contract > number (per capita) 1.491 per 1 million people [126th of 171]
Procedures to register property > number 15 [2nd of 167]
Procedures to register property > number (per capita) 456.568 per 1 billion people [102nd of 167]
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament > % 6.2 % [151st of 174]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number 14 [13th of 171]
Start-up procedures to register a business > number (per capita) 0.426 per 1 million people [126th of 171]
Status pseudo-democracy
Suffrage
 18 years of age; universal
Time required to build a warehouse > days 244 days [46th of 168]
Time required to enforce a contract > days 397 days [111st of 171]
Time required to register property > days 51 days [79th of 167]
Time required to start a business > days 24 days [123rd of 171]
Time to prepare and pay taxes > hours 504 hours [29th of 169]
Time to resolve insolvency > years 2.5 years [94th of 151]
Total businesses registered > number 79,908 [50th of 71]
Total businesses registered > number (per capita) 2.508 per 1 million people [59th of 83]
Trademarks, nonresidents 871 [36th of 99]
Trademarks, nonresidents (per capita) 0.027 per 1 million people [66th of 146]
Trademarks, residents 1,488 [32nd of 98]
Trademarks, residents (per capita) 0.047 per 1 million people [60th of 142]
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International
 Algeria, and many other states, rejects Moroccan administration of Western Sahara; the Polisario Front, exiled in Algeria, represents the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic; Algeria's border with Morocco remains an irritant to bilateral relations, each nation accusing the other of harboring militants and arms smuggling; Algeria remains concerned about armed bandits operating throughout the Sahel who sometimes destabilize southern Algerian towns; dormant disputes include Libyan claims of about 32,000 sq km still reflected on its maps of southeastern Algeria and the FLN's assertions of a claim to Chirac Pastures in southeastern Morocco
UN membership date 8 Oct. 1962
United Nations mission
 Http://www.algeria-un.org
Http://www.mae.dz/
Washington, D.C. embassies > Neighborhood Kalorama Heights

SOURCES
All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; Wikipedia: List of Ambassadors from Finland ; CIA World Factbook, 14 June, 2007 ; Wikipedia: List of countries' copyright length ; Transparency International; Wikipedia: List of embassies and high commissions in Ottawa ; Wikipedia: Foreign relations of Croatia ; Wikipedia: Foreign relations of Nepal ; Wikipedia: Foreign relations of Western Sahara ; World Development Indicators database; Wikipedia: Heads of Missions from the United Kingdom ; Wikipedia: Independence Day ; Economist Intelligence Unit; CIA World Factbook, 28 July 2005; United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook; Wikipedia: List of political parties ; CIA World Factbook, December 2003; Wikipedia: Prime minister ; electionworld.org; Wisconsin High School Model United Nations; Wikipedia: List of Washington, D.C. embassies

ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah, Al Jaza'ir, algeria b

Democracy
 

Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Management Index 2006 3.63 [91st of 118]
Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Status Index 2006 4.42 [85th of 119]
Bertelsmann Transformation Index>Political Transformation 4.23 [77th of 119]
Civil and political liberties 1.5 [103rd of 140]
Electoral system party list
Electoral system type proportional
Female candidacy 1,962 [29th of 161]
Female ministers 45% [3rd of 125]
Female parliamentarians 4% [138th of 157]
Female suffrage 1962
First female parliamentarian 1962 (appointed)
Gender Parity Index in primary level enrolment 0.9260820682807 [117th of 183]
Homosexuality laws of the world > Homosexuality laws > Laws against homosexuality Yes
Parliamentary elections > Invalid votes 10.5% [10th of 110]
Parliamentary elections > Registered voter turnout 46.2% [141st of 152]
Parliamentary elections > Total vote 8,288,540 [33rd of 154]
Parliamentary elections > Voter registration 17,951,100 [29th of 152]
Parliamentary elections > Voting age population 14,838,100 [34th of 163]
Parliamentary elections > Voting age population (per capita) 456.107 per 1,000 people [116th of 162]
Presidential elections > Registered voter turnout 60.9% [65th of 86]
Presidential elections > Total vote 10,652,600 [14th of 87]
Presidential elections > Turnout 63.8 [48th of 82]
Presidential elections > Voter registration 17,488,800 [14th of 86]
Presidential elections > Voting age population 16,705,200 [15th of 91]
Presidential elections > Voting age population (per capita) 513.501 per 1,000 people [44th of 91]
Vote counting technology manual

SOURCES
Bertelsmann Transformation Index online, 2006; http://www.bertelsmann-transformation ... /BTI_2006_Ranking_GB.pdf; Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2000-2001, New York: Freedom House, 2001; No comment is being made on the state of democracy. Categorizations are based on the electoral law, or the last competitive election held; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 1995. Women in Parliaments 1945-1995: A World Statistical Survey. Geneva and IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on year women received the right to vote and to stand for election and year first woman was elected or appointed to parliament. March. Geneva; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on women in government at the ministerial level. March. Geneva; calculated on the basis of data on parliamentary seats from IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2002. Parline Database. March 2002; IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 1995. Women in Parliaments 1945-1995: A World Statistical Survey. Geneva and IPU (Inter-Parliamentary Union). 2001. Correspondence on year women received the right to vote and to stand for election and year first woman was elected or appointed to parliament. March. Geneva.; Source: Millennium Development Goals Database | United Nations Statistics Division; Wikipedia: Homosexuality laws of the world ; Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance 2003; Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance

ALTERNATIVE NAMES
Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Al Jumhuriyah al Jaza'iriyah ad Dimuqratiyah ash Sha'biyah, Al Jaza'ir, algeria b


2) Legal system

Based on French and Islamic law


3) Judicial system

review of legislative acts in ad hoc Constitutional Council composed of various public officials, including several Supreme Court justices; Algeria has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction


4) Major parties represented in parliament

National Liberation Front (FLN), National Democratic Rally (RND), Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), Workers' Party (PT), Algerian National Front (FNA), Movement for National Reform (MRN), Islamic Renaissance Movement (MNI), Party of Algerian Renewal (PRA), Movement of National Understanding (MEN).


5) Constitution

September 8, 1963; revised November 19, 1976, November 3, 1988, February 23, 1989, November 28, 1996, April 10, 2002, and November 12, 2008

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