Algeria's largest Islamist party insists on taking part in elections

The Movement for the Society of Peace, the largest Islamist party in Algeria, announced on Tuesday that it insists on participating in the upcoming local elections scheduled for 23 November.

Party leader Abdel Majeed Manasrah told a press conference in the capital Algiers that this is despite “all the difficulties” involved. “Our participation is based on the belief that the elections are the way to reflect the people’s will with regard to reform and change,” he explained.

The decision, added Manasrah, aims to block all possible options that could lead to chaos or threaten the future of Algeria.

The press conference was held to allow the party to respond to criticism that it is running in the elections despite its repeated criticism that the voting process is all too often manipulated by the ruling parties.

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