Party Switching and Article 200 Back in the Spotlight Ahead of Local Elections

The issue of political party switching, locally referred to as “political nomadism,” along with Article 200 of Algeria’s Organic Law on Elections, is once again taking center stage as the Independent National Electoral Authority and political parties hold consultations ahead of the November 28 local elections.

The talks are also addressing the organization and monitoring of the electoral process at the municipal and wilaya levels, as political parties seek clarification on several issues that sparked controversy during the last legislative elections.

The meetings come just weeks before the local elections, with a number of concerns left over from the previous legislative polls still unresolved. Political parties believe these issues require clarification before preparations for the local elections get fully underway, particularly with regard to candidacies, the criteria for accepting or rejecting them, and mechanisms for organizing and monitoring the electoral process at the local level.

In this context, Lamine Osmani, president of the Voice of the People party (Sawt Echaab), told Echorouk that the meeting announced by the Independent National Electoral Authority with political parties is “very important.” He said it came in response to several requests submitted by political parties and represents an opportunity to launch a serious and responsible dialogue on the previous elections by identifying shortcomings and achievements and conducting a genuine assessment of the electoral process before moving on to corrective measures.

Osmani said his party would raise several issues during the meeting, foremost among them political nomadism. He noted that, in his view, the Constitutional Court had interpreted the issue in cases involving the two chambers of Parliament—the People’s National Assembly and the Council of the Nation. This, he argued, raises the need to clarify how the matter will be handled in local elections.

Article 200 of the Organic Law on Elections will also be a key topic of discussion, having been one of the provisions that generated the most controversy during the previous legislative elections. Osmani stressed the need to clearly define the circumstances that may affect a candidate’s civil and political rights, emphasizing that what is required is the proper application of the law.

The Voice of the People leader stressed that his party is not opposed to combating corruption or safeguarding the integrity of elections. Rather, he said, it is calling for the circumstances concerned to be precisely defined so that the rules are clear to everyone. He warned that leaving too much room for discretionary authority could increase the margin for error, since, as he put it, “there is always a margin of error when discretion is exercised.”

His party also intends to raise the issue of organizing and monitoring elections at the municipal level. Osmani believes greater neutrality must be ensured in the administration of the electoral process and said one of the proposals his party plans to put forward is that election officials should not be drawn from the same municipality in which they are overseeing the vote.

For his part, Ahmed Sadok, a senior figure in the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), told Echorouk that the movement will take part in the meeting organized by the Independent National Electoral Authority with representatives of political parties. He said the movement’s participation would be based on its assessment of the performance of the authority and its former president during the previous legislative elections, which he described as “negative” because of a number of violations that, he said, affected the conduct of the electoral process.

Sadok said the MSP would raise several issues that had constituted major shortcomings during the previous legislative elections and which it hopes will not be repeated—particularly since, in his view, the new head of the electoral authority is a political figure who understands and is receptive to the needs and priorities of political parties. This, he said, makes him capable of addressing the concerns of the political class.

Among the issues the movement intends to raise are delays in appointing municipal coordinators, delays in issuing documents related to the administration of the electoral process, and delays in approving certain candidate lists. According to Sadok, some lists had still not received approval by the time the electoral campaign began.

The issue of exclusions will also feature prominently in the MSP’s observations. Sadok spoke of the exclusion of party officials and qualified individuals, describing the decisions as unjustified. As a result, he said, the movement is approaching the upcoming meeting with the new electoral authority with a series of proposals that it considers necessary to address the shortcomings that have been identified.

Meanwhile, the Independent National Electoral Authority is expected to begin receiving representatives of political parties to hear their proposals, including those of the National Liberation Front (FLN), the Construction Movement (El Binaa), the Future Front and other political parties. The electoral authority said in a statement on Saturday that, “as part of preparations for the election of members of the People’s Municipal and Wilaya Assemblies on November 28, 2026, all political parties are hereby informed that the authority will begin receiving them according to a schedule to be determined by the president of the authority.”

According to the authority, the meetings are part of its efforts to “provide an opportunity to hear the concerns of the various partners and stakeholders involved in the electoral process, particularly political parties, as they are key stakeholders and active partners in the electoral process.”