Algeria - the long road to democracy

Fifteen years after the military junta cancelled the democratic process paving the way for a brutal civil war, voters return to the polls today for the latest step in Algeria's torturous democratic process. Although parliamentary and presidential elections have been every few years since 1995, underlying tensions remain. Recent terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda linked militants have added an extra edge, and despite a reconciliation process, the return to the dark days of the 1990s is not far from the minds of weary Algerians. The development of Algerian democracy is an often cited case, as it was one of the first attempts to bring popular representation to the region. The victory for the Islamist movement - FIS - and subsequent military coup show what can happen when democracy and Islam combine, and what can go wrong. As the seminal Islamist electoral success story, FIS bitterly divided Algeria. Opinion of the movement ranged from fear of the imposition an undemocratic Iranian style theocracy, to representing vital salvation after years of decline under socialist rule. The leadership symbolised the dilemma facing Algerians and international observers at the time. Abassi Madani projected a moderate image - promoting democracy as the best way of ending Algeria's economic and social decline. Ali Belhadj, his deputy, led the salafi radical wing who rejected democracy - “Democracy is a stranger in the House of God. There is no democracy in Islam” - but at the same time encouraged Algerians to use democracy to end FLN rule. These contradictions did not inspire confidence and the international community's perception of “One man, one vote, one time” - meant that there was little condemnation of the 1992 coup. A similar situation to the Hamas victory last year, but FIS had not been designated as a terrorist group, making the silence less understandable. How democratic FIS would have been in full power is debatable. The extreme level of resistance in the civil war to the military junta firstly by the AIS (Islamic Salvation Army) and then the GIA, shows how militants had the potential to dominate FIS' political agenda. The salafi wing of FIS rejected democracy as it conflicted with the Islamic concept of Tawhid, but for moderates like Madani - FIS had a nationalist and pluralist agenda that looked to create economic and social reform through democracy.