Ruling party wins majority of seats in Algeria’s Council of Nation

Algeria’s ruling National Liberation Front party won the majority of seats in the midterm elections of the Council of the Nation (the second chamber of parliament) that were carried out on Saturday, while the prime minister’s party, the National Rally for Democracy, won second place, according to an  announcement by the two parties.

The Council of the Nation has 144 members, two thirds of whom (96 members) are elected by ballot, with two seats for each province (48 provinces) from the local councils’ members, while the other third, 44 members, are appointed by the president.

Half of the Council’s members are chosen every three years (48 from the elected members and 24 from those appointed by the President of the Republic).

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The National Liberation Front party announced in a statement that it had won 29 out of the 48 contested seats.

The National Rally for Democracy party, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, announced winning 13 seats, the most important of which is that of the capital.

As expected, the oppositionist Socialist Forces Front party won again the two seats in Tizi Ouzou and Béjaïa, in Kabylie region, which is the party’s traditional stronghold.

These results are preliminary and their official announcement by the Constitutional Council (Constitutional Court) will be within the coming days.

Forty-one independent candidates joined those from 23 parties to run in the elections.