Why Islamists Algeria in the palace of Muradia? Where are they heading?

Abdelhakim Hazaqa - Algeria

In a surprise move, the Peace Community Movement (Hamas) and the Justice and Development Front (BJP) duo agreed on a united position not to advance to the presidential race scheduled for December 12.

"His party is independent in its decisions, and cannot be attracted from any side. It is working to create a national consensus that serves the interests of the country and transcends personal interests," said Hamas leader Abdel Razzaq Maqri.

For his part, called on the President of the Justice and Development Front, Abdullah Gaballah to the need to prevent the candidacy of all who caused the tragedies of the Algerian people, stressing that the party "will not participate in the elections unless the demands of the movement on the ground."

Thus, the largest Algerian Islamic parties put themselves out of competition, and kept the ambiguity of their position in the next election, where they refused to boycott, and advocated in favor of "national consensus."

In terms of electoral numbers and observers' estimates, Hamas is the strongest political opposition group in Algeria, and Abdallah Djaballah is the oldest opposition figure among party leaders now, and the Islamic pot is influential in the balance of political forces in Algeria, observers say.

Therefore, the harmony of Hamas and "justice" on the candidate consensus resonated widely among the public opinion, and raised many questions about the backgrounds of choice, and whether the Islamists can succeed in its embodiment.

Building alliances
"The position of justice and the Hamas movement is the logic," wrote journalist Talib Abu Shboub.

He justified his comment by saying, "Whoever tied them with his hands had to replace them with his teeth, let them bring the candidate they want, and he bears his responsibility.

"What is the Maqri and Jaballah agreement hiding to boycott the 12/12 elections and supporting a candidate?" Asked journalist Merzak Sayadi on his Facebook page.

"What I understand from the Shura and Hamas councils decision is to participate in the elections without a candidate from the party, in other words to keep the door open to candidates and the authority to build electoral alliances," said analyst Yahya Jafari.

"What Gaballah and Megri have done is to believe that the opposition has a compromise candidate, is it a prelude to Mouloud Hamrouche, or a prospective support for Ali Benflis? There may be something else completely," commented journalist Anas Jomaa.

Successive defeats
Political sociology professor Boubacar Gemelli believes that the trend toward non-nomination has become comprehensive and not just for Islamists. This is the result of individual and partisan "selfishness" that did not allow charismatic figures to emerge.

He explained in an interview with the island Net that this is a phenomenon of phobia of political Islam, and the stand of some Western countries and even Arab against the arrival of Islamic movements to power.

Media and communication professor Driss Boulkaibat describes the Islamists' stance on the election as a tactical withdrawal to return and participate in their candidates for the next presidential term.

He explains the motives of the charged atmosphere, due to the constant pressure of the popular movement.
The absence of a clear position on the Islamists, who preferred to monitor the development of the situation on the ground from afar and in silence.

"They may have benefited from what happened recently in Tunisia, where Abdel Fattah Moro, vice president of Ennahda, came out of the presidential race from its first round," Boulkaibat told Al Jazeera Net.

"We also note the extinction of the slogan" Islam is the solution "in Tunisia, and the same thing is repeated in Egypt, in an attempt to mobilize popular movement against President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the presence of Islamists weak, and perhaps the interaction on the scene in all North African countries calls on the Islamists to Conduct new reviews of work methods and strategies in light of these successive defeats.

Towards the military candidate
The options open to the Islamists are very limited, ranging from the closest candidate to the most successful candidate, where emotional choice leads them to the near. Supported by the military.

He stressed that the chances of consensus have diminished their margins, "but we are in the case of consensus on incompatibility, because it depends on the first round the emergence of a figure from outside the Islamists, but it will be the consensus in the second round, and may be forced in the first round Islamists to leave the rope on the West for their fighters." .

As for the influence of the Islamists' position, he explained that the actual authority would have breathed a sigh of relief by not objecting to the elections, because it ensured that they would not be postponed again, to start thinking about ensuring the success of a person who supports its approach.