elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; note - a November 2008 constitutional amendment abolished presidential term limits; election last held 9 April 2009 (next to be held in April 2014); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA reelected president for third term; percent of vote - Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA 90.2%, Louisa HANOUNE 4.2%, Moussa TOUATI 2.3%, Djahid YOUNSI 1.4%, Ali Fawzi REBIANE less than 1%, Mohamed SAID less than 1%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Council of Nations (Senate) (144 seats; one-third of the members appointed by the president, two-thirds elected by indirect vote to serve six-year terms; the constitution requires half the council to be renewed every three years) and the National People's Assembly or Al-Majlis Al-Shabi Al-Watani (389 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: National People's Assembly - last held 17 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012); Council of Nations (Senate) - last held 28 December 2006 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: National People's Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 136, RND 61, MSP 52, PT 26, RCD 19, FNA 13, other 49, independents 33; Council of Nations - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FLN 29, RND 12, MSP 3, RCD 1, independents 3, presidential appointees (unknown affiliation) 24; note - Council seating reflects the number of replaced council members rather than the whole Council
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Ahd 54 [Ali Fauzi REBAINE]; Algerian National Front or FNA [Moussa
TOUATI]; National Democratic Rally (Rassemblement National
Democratique) or RND [Ahmed OUYAHIA]; National Liberation Front or
FLN [Abdelaziz BELKHADEM, secretary general]; National Reform
Movement or Islah (formerly MRN) [Ahmed ABDESLAM]; Rally for Culture
and Democracy or RCD [Said SADI]; Renaissance Movement or EnNahda
Movement [Fatah RABEI]; Socialist Forces Front or FFS [Hocine Ait
AHMED]; Society of Peace Movement or MSP [Boudjerra SOLTANI];
Workers Party or PT [Louisa HANOUNE]