LOW TURNOUT IN ALGERIA ELECTIONS !
The polls have been marred by a boycott and unhappiness with politicians. A low turnout is being reported in Algeria's parliamentary elections, where recent bombings have raised fears of a renewed radical Islamist campaign.
Algerians are frustrated with the failure of politicians to tackle social problems like unemployment, says the BBC's Richard Hamilton in Algiers.
He says there is an uneasy calm at polling stations, amid heavy security.
In a bomb attack on the eve of voting, one man was killed and five people injured in the city of Constantine.
Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said turnout by 1300 GMT was 19% - far lower than in previous polls in 2002.
The interior minister said the blast was an "act of sabotage" against the Algerian democratic system.
An Islamic group said it carried out suicide bombings that killed 33 people in the capital, Algiers, last month.
Voters will elect 389 members of parliament in the general election, in which more than 20 political parties are taking part.
The Islamic Salvation Front, which used to have massive popular support, was banned in 1992 and has not been allowed back into the political fold.
Our reporter says they are the ghost at this banquet and without them many poor Algerians feel their voice is not heard.
The main political group linked to the Berber-speaking areas in the north-east is boycotting the polls.
Islamists banned
The BBC's Ian Pannell in Algiers says the Western-leaning government has proved a reliable ally to the West, in particular to Washington and its fight with Islamic extremism.
The best way of responding to this kind of attack is strong participation in the legislative elections -Noureddine Yazid ZerhouniAlgerian interior minister.
Algerians are frustrated with the failure of politicians to tackle social problems like unemployment, says the BBC's Richard Hamilton in Algiers.
He says there is an uneasy calm at polling stations, amid heavy security.
In a bomb attack on the eve of voting, one man was killed and five people injured in the city of Constantine.
Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said turnout by 1300 GMT was 19% - far lower than in previous polls in 2002.
The interior minister said the blast was an "act of sabotage" against the Algerian democratic system.
An Islamic group said it carried out suicide bombings that killed 33 people in the capital, Algiers, last month.
Voters will elect 389 members of parliament in the general election, in which more than 20 political parties are taking part.
The Islamic Salvation Front, which used to have massive popular support, was banned in 1992 and has not been allowed back into the political fold.
Our reporter says they are the ghost at this banquet and without them many poor Algerians feel their voice is not heard.
The main political group linked to the Berber-speaking areas in the north-east is boycotting the polls.
Islamists banned
The BBC's Ian Pannell in Algiers says the Western-leaning government has proved a reliable ally to the West, in particular to Washington and its fight with Islamic extremism.
The best way of responding to this kind of attack is strong participation in the legislative elections -Noureddine Yazid ZerhouniAlgerian interior minister.
No-one imagines that these elections will have an immediate impact on these substantial issues, he adds.
Mr Zerhouni said the latest bomb attack was not unexpected.
"We have been expecting this kind of act. It is an act of sabotage, an act against the democratic system in Algeria," he said.
"The best way of responding to this kind of attack is strong participation in the legislative elections."
Our correspondent says some in the international community say Algeria has the potential to be a role model for the wider Arab world.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika launched a programme of national reconciliation in 2005, following years of a violent Islamist insurgency.
About 150,000 people were killed in the civil war in the 1990s.
posted by jackaranda at 5:48 pm
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