Algerian government allows opposition to establish new party

The Algerian ministry of the interior has given permission for opposition leader and former presidential candidate Ali Benflis to establish a new political party, Anadolu has reported.

A statement from the Tala’e Al-Horriyat Party confirmed that the founder members had been given the licence on Wednesday, following a verbal reassurance a day earlier that it would be issued. The party’s constitutional conference will be held in the first week of May.

Benflis was the closest rival to current President Abdul-Aziz Boutafliqa in last year’s election. Bouteflika got 80 per cent of the votes, with Benflis polling 12 per cent. He alleged that the results were fraudulent.

When Benflis stood for the presidency in 2004 he got only 6.42 per cent of the votes. He then left politics until last year, when he ran for presidency. He insisted that he must have a party to be able to work in politics and applied for the licence in December.