People's National Assembly
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People's National Assembly Assemblée populaire nationale |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 462 members |
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Political groups
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Government (272) Opposition (122) Crossbench (68)
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| Elections | |
| Direct election | |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) |
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| Algiers | |
| Website | |
| www |
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Government (272)
Opposition (122)
Crossbench (68)
The People's National Assembly (al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-Watani), abbreviated APN, is the lower house of the Algerian Parliament. It is composed of 462 members directly elected by the population. Of the 462 seats, 8 are reserved for Algerians living abroad. Members of the People's National Assembly are directly elected through proportional representation in multiple-member districts and serve terms lasting five years at a time. The last election for this body was held on 10 May 2012 and the next election will be held on 17 May 2017. This body and of the Algerian Parliament is seen as nonrepresentative of the Algerian people's interest because of the presidency, which controls the majority of governmental power. The minimum age required for election into the APN is 28.
There are 48 districts, called wilayat, in Algeria and 4 overseas constituencies which send representatives to this body. There is one seat for every 80,000 inhabitants and an additional seat for additional citizens in a wilaya numbering above 40,000. The current speaker of the APN is Mohamed Al-Arabi Ould Khalifa, a member of the plurality party National Liberation Front. Women compose 3.4% of APN members. The minimum age to vote in Algeria is 18. Voting is not compulsory.
The first election for the People's National Assembly was held on 20 September 1962. In 1963, the President of the Republic of Algeria, Ahmed Ben Bella, halted the activities of the APN and set up a Revolution Council lasting from 1965 to 1976. The APN was reestablished in 1976 with the passage of Algeria's new constitution, at the time only a unicameral legislature. Up until 1991, the ruling party was the National Liberation Front (FLN), and in fact, the 1976 Algerian constitution considered the FLN as the preferred Algerian political party. The first APN election with multiple parties was held in December 1991. After a predicted Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) victory, a fundamentalist opposition party, the Algerian People's National Armed Forces canceled the elections. A substitute legislative body, the National Consultative Council, was established in April 1992 and lasted until May 1994, when the National Transitional Council ruled for until the next elections, held on 5 June 1997. In 1996, the legislature split into two chambers forming the Algerian Parliament with the ratification of a new constitution.
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