This article was received from CHAWKI SALHI, leader of the Algerian PST, before the resignation of the Algerian President, and the cancellation of the second round of elections. None of these moves will halt the rise of the reactionary FIS. Rather, they are likely to reinforce the loyalty of FIS supporters and discredit pro-democracy forces. Whether a military government will be installed is unclear. But the FiS is likely to be strengthened. As Chawki Salhi points out, the only way to resist the rise of fundamentalism is through a united mobilisation in defence of democracy. IT WAS LATE in the evenin of 26 December 1991 that Af geria discovered that the Is amic Salvation Front (FIS) was the main victor in a general election which involved only 6.8 million people out of 13 million egistered elector:
The results show that in the absence of a mass workers' party, the unemployed and the youth chose a reactionary banner to express their protest, because the FIS gave the illusion of being a radical, powerful and effective opposition. The elec toral system pushed people to cast a vote and reinforced the FIS.
Islamic majority In the first round the FIS took 188 seats out of 430 and is on course to win almost all the 199 seats up for election. It got 3.26 million votes out of the 6.8 million cast. With the 518,00 votes for similar parties, the Islamic vote took an overall majority. 28 seats will be enough in the second round on January 16 for the FIS to take the majority by itself. El Salvador negotiations SPAIN ALGERIA The Front of Socialist Forces (FFS) expressed the consensus among the masses around their right to speak Tamazight (the berber language). But with its 510,000 votes and 26 deputies, it is hardly on course for power.
With 1.65 million votes and only 15 deputies, the vote of the ruling party, the FLN, was split rural areas and those worried by the rise of the FIS - it is this factor that boosted their vote.
The intellectual and social elites voted for the 30-plus liberal parties, but their 635,000 votes were rendered useless by the 'first past the post electoral sysThe Socialist Workers Party (PST) has always challenged the TUNISIA legitimacy of these elections. It participated to ensure that there Was a socialist alternative on offer. elections were clearly antidemocratic - there was Parison bees in parties either funding or organisational ability; the electoral system increased the vote of the biggest parties; and there was a biased media campaign. The complexity of the voting procedure and the political con lion abstentions or invalid The voting procedure was illiterate, and only the FIS orto train i iterate supporters to tick the right number on the ballot. The 924,000 invalid votes repre sented such votes, lost by the Islamic leaders want to reverse gains made by women and return to fundamentalism FIS opponents who had made no such preparations.
In numerous women's voting ooths the FIS won a majority he 'democratic parties failed to mobilise their women sup porters. The right to vote for women, just won in the face of opposition from the fundamentalists, antage of enemies of women The government, who had Promised free and honest elec ions, clearly had expected neither the FIS victory nor the Then, of a coup. be any doubt as to the result.
Panic
The panic which particularly hit the middle classes has been used in a crazy campaign for the annulling of the , led by the 'Committee to Save Algeria created by the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) and bosses' organisations.
But this campaign discredits democracy will only enlarge the FIS. The massive demonstration on January 2 is the only positive element in this disastrous situation, with up to 300,000 people taking part.
Now the government is aiming to rerun the vote in some of the FIS' sents where there have been claims of fraud. We are obviously heading for i prolonged election, which in proves the FLN's also lets them prepare for an FIS It seems very unlikely that the FLN can r yet decided tween the real assibilities ofregimeand its domination over the region.
But to defeat the fundamentalists, the workins class youth need to be won back from them. The fight against the right and the IMP's plans And the revolt of the marginalised youth needs to be the driving force of the strug gle.
This is the challenge before already waited for too long, but it is the only way forward.