People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Region: Middle East

Description of government structure:

Chief of State: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA *

Head of Government: President Abdelaziz BOUTEFLIKA

Assembly: Algeria has a bicameral Parliament (Majlis) consisting of the Council of the Nation (Majlis al-Oumma) with 144 seats and the National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani) with 389 seats.

* A November 2008 constitutional amendment abolished presidential term limits. The electoral system is two-round.

Description of electoral system:

The President is elected by absolute majority vote through a two-round system to serve a 5-year term.

In the Council of the Nation (Majlis al-Oumma), 96 members are indirectly elected by an electoral college to serve 6-year terms and 48 members are appointed by the President to serve 6-year terms*. In the National People's Assembly (Al-Majlis Ech-Chaabi Al-Watani) 389 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 5-year terms.**

* The Constitution requires half the Council of Nations to be renewed every three years. There are 48 multi-member (2 seats) corresponding to country's wilayas (administrative districts).

Population:

Population: 35,406,303 (July 2012 est.)

Source: IFES Election Guide