Algerian Islamist parties form electoral alliance

Three of five Islamist parties running in Algeria’s elections in May announced Wednesday they were forming an alliance to jointly field candidates. The “Green Algeria Alliance,” made up of the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), Ennahda, and the el-Islah (reform) movement, said in a statement they would “campaign together and present a joint platform.” Two other Islamist parties, recently licensed by the government, the Front for Justice and Liberty (FJD) and the Movement for Change, have refused to join the alliance. The performance of Islamist parties will be keenly watched in the May 10 vote. Algeria gave up its one-party system in 1989, but the army intervened in 1991 when the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was about to win the elections. The decision led to years of unrest that left nearly 200,000 dead.