Islamist politician refuses use of mosque in elections

Chairperson of Algeria’s Electoral Commission of Islamic Union Faried Habaz called the Algerian authorities for not using the mosques in the current political conflict witnessed in the country in light of the coming parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on May 4. He stressed that Islamic Union strongly refuses the use of mosques to achieve political gains.

He described the call launched by Algeria’s Ministry of Religious Affairs as an attempt to politicize the mosques, saying that the preachers could launch parallel campaigns in the streets to urge the citizens to participate in the coming parliamentary elections to keep the country’s security and stability. He said, “Such campaign should be organized by the preachers themselves without interference from the Ministry of Religious Affairs.”

He praised the electoral campaign launched by Islamic Union, composed of three Islamist parties including Nahda Movement, Building Movement and Justice and Development Movement, saying that they received positive reactions from the citizens despite the emergence of electoral abstention phenomenon. He stressed the importance of the step they took to unify the Islamist movements under the umbrella of the union.

The leading member of Islamic Union said that they attempted to use the different ways to convince the citizens to participate during the coming parliamentary elections, saying that they visited a number of houses in different governorates to explain the country’s need of their participation. He added that their electoral program focused on the problems the Algerian citizen faces in his daily life and the economic situation witnessed in the country during the current period due to the notable decline in the prices of oil.

He added that the government should take serious steps to find alternative source of economy during the coming period to enrich the national economy. He expected a notable rise in the rate of participation during the coming elections to be 45 percent, saying the Islamic Union will gain the majority of parliamentary seats.