Algerian Islamist predicts mass election boycott

By Hamid Ould Ahmed and Lamine Chikhi

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria's presidential election will be a hollow exercise and all but a few Algerians will boycott the polls to show their disapproval, the top opposition Islamist said.

Abdallah Djaballah, 52, said he decided not to challenge President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April's election because the incumbent head of state had effectively already won.

Bouteflika confirmed last week he would seek a third term in office, a move made possible after lawmakers changed the constitution to lift a limit on presidential terms.

"The political arena has been closed for nearly a decade," Djaballah told Reuters in an interview. "The regime has tamed the political parties that accepted to be tamed and has broken those that refused to be tamed."

The north African country had just one legal political party after independence in 1962 -- the National Liberation Front (FLN) which led the overthrow of former colonial power France.

Multi-party politics and a freer press arrived in 1989 but Bouteflika's FLN and a clutch of loyalist parties still dominate the system. Parties based on overtly religious or ethnic lines are banned.

When an Islamist party looked set to win legislative elections in 1992, the government cancelled the polls, sparking a decade-long insurgency that left some 150,000 Algerians dead.

The violence has subsided since Bouteflika came to power in 1999 but security forces are still battling a hard core of radicals loyal to al Qaeda who have carried out a series of bombings and attacks.

VOTE CAMPAIGN

Djaballah, speaking at the headquarters of his El Islah (Reform) party in the capital Algiers, said the government must do more to prevent youths from joining militant groups.

"The security situation as a whole has improved but it is still worrying even if it is less intense," he said.

"The current regime is isolated from the people. There is a huge gap between the two sides," he said. "This is why I'm expecting a wide boycott of these elections."

No consensus candidate has emerged to challenge the 71-year-old Bouteflika. Supporters say the former independence war hero deserves the continued trust of the people for having put Algeria back on the path to stability.

Government critics have not called officially for a boycott but many have forecast a repeat of 2007 legislative elections, when the turnout was a record-low 35 percent.

The government has launched a campaign to encourage Algerians to use their vote.

Millions have received text messages on mobile phones, officials have visited campuses to motivate students and mosque imams have been asked to urge the faithful to vote.

Bouteflika has vowed to ensure transparent elections by inviting foreign observers. Djaballah, who took part in 2004 presidential election as a leader of El Islah, was sceptical.

"Is it possible to have a transparent and fair election when the president uses the administration, TV and public money as tools for his campaign?" he said. "The regime will, as usual, commit fraud by announcing results that do not reflect reality."