Thousands of people marched towards the Algiers regional administration headquarters yesterday in protest against alleged fraud in last week's local elections. Thousands more lined the streets along the march route between the working-class district of Belcourt and the regional headquarters some four kilometres away.
Seven political parties called for the protest march, including the Socialist Forces Front (FFS), the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) and the former ruling National Liberation Front (FLN).
Also taking part were two legal Islamist parties, the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP, formerly Hamas) and Ennahda (Renaissance); the Party for Algerian Renewal and the Workers'Party. It was the first united protest demonstration in Algeria since 1989, when the FLN, which had ruled alone since independence, conceded the formation of opposition political parties.
Algeria then descended into the depths of political violence after the military intervened in 1992 to prevent a certain election victory by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), now banned.
The regime of President Lamine Zeroual has claimed to be winning a bloody war against Islamic fundamentalist terrorism since then, and presented last week's elections as a major step towards the restoration of democracy.
But the polls, officially won by National Democratic Rally (RND), founded by Zeroual loyalists early this year, have been widely denounced as fraudulent. State radio said more than 1,160 complaints had been lodged.
Almost half the complaints have come from the FLN, which is allied with the RND in the national assembly and officially came second in the elections.
The MSP, which came third and holds seven ministries, also wants an investigation.
Heading yesterday's protest march were RCD militants bearing banners saying "Give us back our votes" and MSP militants carrying a coffin on which the word "democracy" was inscribed.
A helicopter flew low over the Belcourt district, but no incident was reported. Mr Zeroual is to make a radio and television address to the nation today, the anniversary of the beginning of Algeria's 19541962 war of independence against France.