Saidani’s opponents seek to rescind the license for 10th FLN Party Congress

Amar Saidani’s opponents within the Central Committee of the FLN party have decided to resort to justice to prevent the holding of the Tenth Congress of the party, concurrently with the filing of by three party members of a request at the level of the Algiers governorship to secure the official green light for the convening of the party’s Central Committee.

It seems that in view of the latest deployments on the political scene that the FLN party is now gripped by the same crisis  as that of the  2004 pre-election period, which saw the toppling of former Secretary-General Ali Benflis, from the top spot of the party, and similarly the same fate later befell his successor Abdellaziz Belkhadem who was also flushed out after a protracted showdown with the supporters of the current FLN party leader Amar Saidani.

As a result of these forceful changes, the FLN party split into two wings, one supported incumbent President Bouteflika in his second election bid and the second backing up Ali  Benflis who stood then for the presidential polls.

Furthermore, foes of Ali Benflis, then prodded by some influential party members, challenged the legality of the FLN party’s eighth Congress, which wound up with the election of Benflis as Secretary General of the party.

This led to the emergence of a so-called readjustment movement then spearheaded by Abdellaziz Belkhadem himself who finally succeeded through behind the scenes maneuvers in wrenching the party’s top rostrum from Ali Benflis through a “night judicial judgment” which baffled at that time all political observers.