Algiers espouses democratic values and transparency within the African Union, but its domestic political reality contrasts sharply with this claim.
At the opening of an African Union training session on election observation missions, Secretary of State for African Affairs Bakhta Selma Mansouri praised Algeria’s “continental leadership” in democratic governance.
According to her, the chairmanship of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Heads of State Forum, held since February 2024 by Abdelmadjid Tebboune, illustrates the country’s commitment to promoting credible electoral processes as a foundation for stability.
The official discourse emphasises Algeria’s alignment with African treaties and mechanisms, as well as its willingness to support electoral reforms through the National Independent Authority for Elections (ANIE). Algiers presents the organisation of this training session as further proof of its strategic role in Africa and its support for AU initiatives.
But this diplomatic veneer struggles to mask internal contradictions.
The Algerian government, regularly criticized for weak political pluralism, the absence of institutional checks and balances, and the marginalisation of the opposition, struggles to embody the standards it claims to promote.
National elections held since 2019 have been marked by massive abstention and disputes over their transparency.
The emphasis on the “symbiosis” between Algiers and the African Union is more an image exercise than a deep commitment to democratisation.
Behind the rhetoric of “peace and stability,” a diplomacy of influence is taking shape, intended to strengthen Algeria’s regional position rather than to drive genuine governance reforms at the national level.
By displaying a leading role in the promotion of African democracy while maintaining a closed political model internally, Algeria is exposing a gap which weakens the credibility of its message on the international scene.
MK/Sf/fss/as/APA