Algeria is heading towards a new electoral phase after the National People’s Assembly approved the draft law specifying the electoral districts and the number of seats in parliament, in the context of broader reforms aimed at modernizing the electoral system and adapting it to the demographic and administrative transformations that the country has witnessed in recent years.

On Monday, April 6, the deputies of the Algerian National People’s Assembly approved the draft law that defines the electoral districts and the number of seats to be filled in parliament. The vote on this draft law took place during a public session chaired by the Speaker of the Assembly, Ibrahim Bougali.

Algeria prepares for elections by readjusting the electoral map

During the session, the Algerian Minister of the Interior presented a draft law that specifies the electoral districts and the number of seats to be filled in the National People's Assembly.

He explained that this project comes within the framework of completing the effort to strengthen the electoral system, and that the project came as an inevitable result of reviewing Law No. 84-09 dated February 4, 1984, relating to the regional division of the country, which was approved by Parliament in its two chambers.

The law included the upgrading of eleven administrative districts to fully empowered states, as this draft text, in essence, embodies the integration of the path of administrative reform and political reform.

The Algerian minister also added that the draft law includes increasing the number of electoral districts from 58 to 69, corresponding to the number of provinces after the creation of the new provinces. This is to enshrine the principle of balanced regional representation. As for our community residing abroad, it is represented by a single electoral district.

Algeria is redrawing the electoral map ahead of the upcoming elections.

The calculation method used to determine the number of seats to be filled in the National People's Assembly, as stipulated in Article 3 of Order No. 21-02 of March 16, 2021, is to be revised as follows: One seat is to be allocated for every 120,000 inhabitants. An additional seat is to be added for each remaining quota of 60,000 inhabitants. A minimum of two seats is to be guaranteed for provinces with a population of less than 200,000, instead of the current three (3) seats.

The calculation of the number of seats to be filled in the National People’s Assembly, for each electoral district, was done according to a systematic approach based on updated demographic data based on the results of the 2022 General Population and Housing Census.

The total number of seats in the Algerian National People's Assembly is set at 407, distributed as follows:

395 seats for domestic constituencies resulted from the application of the calculation method. 12 seats instead of 8 were allocated for the overseas constituency. This was intended to enhance the representation of our diaspora, reflecting the state's desire to strengthen its ties with its citizens residing abroad.