Ould Kablia Issues First Post-Election Warning: 'Recognize Parliament, Or Resign'

Fifteen Algerian political parties that claim to have been cheated of votes in May 10 legislative elections should leave parliament if they refuse to accept the result, interior minister Daho Ould Kablia said Wednesday in Algiers.

• The defeated parties, including four Islamist groups, had expected to pick up a sizeable slice of seats in the legislative polls, the first since Arab Spring protests in neighbouring nations brought President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to launch a reform package allowing new parties to run for power.

• But the 15 parties won only a combined 28 seats out of parliament’s 462 and on Monday, amid claims of voter fraud, they said they would set up a parallel “constituent assembly” when the new assembly is due to be inaugurated Saturday.

• Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia said on Wednesday that the losing parties must accept the poll, or else step aside.

• “When you don’t recognize parliament, you resign,” Mr Ould Kablia stressed.

• The new assembly will be dominated by the National Liberation Front (FLN), which took 221 seats, while its allied RND party garnered 70, thus securing an overwhelming majority (over 60%) in the new legislative body.

• Among those parties complaining of vote rigging is that of Islamist leader Abdallah Djaballah, who was confident of broad support during the campaign but only won seven seats.
• The government invited 500 foreign observers for the May 10^th election, including 150 from the European Union, who gave a positive endorsement of the official results.

• On Wednesday, the national election commission said political parties had requested a delay to the publication of a report into the elections after some parties said they wanted to amend it.

• Separately, FLN head Abdelaziz Belkhadem is under fire from central committee party members, who want to impeach him for what they called “nepotism and mismanagement”.

• A party spokesman told Wednesday a local newspaper that Belkhadem would seek a vote of confidence on June 10^th 2012.