Khalida Boufdesh, a member of the Central Committee of Algeria’s National Liberation Front (FLN), has been elected Speaker of the country’s Parliament, becoming the first woman in Algeria’s parliamentary history to hold the position. The National Liberation Front, which played a pivotal role in Algeria’s struggle for independence, is now one of the country’s ruling coalition parties.
Algerian media reported that Khalida Boufdesh was elected Speaker of Parliament on Wednesday, July 29, after securing the support of lawmakers. A specialist in allergy medicine, she represents the capital constituency in the National People’s Assembly.
In Algeria’s most recent parliamentary elections, the National Liberation Front won the largest share of seats, securing at least 91 of the 407 seats in Parliament and emerging as its largest political party. The election also recorded a voter turnout of around 21 percent, the lowest participation rate in the country’s parliamentary election history.
Before entering Parliament, Boufdesh was active in public administration and local politics. She has since become one of the leading figures within the National Liberation Front and now serves as Speaker of the National People’s Assembly.
The election of Algeria’s first female parliamentary speaker comes at a time when women’s representation in the legislature has declined significantly. Women currently hold just 25 seats, accounting for approximately 6 percent of the 407-member Parliament.
In the previous parliamentary term, 38 women served as lawmakers, while the legislature before that included 118 female members. The figures reflect a substantial decline in women’s representation in Algeria’s Parliament over recent years.
The decline in the number of female lawmakers followed amendments to the country’s electoral law. In the 2017 parliamentary elections, a gender quota system facilitated greater female representation in Parliament. However, after that mechanism was revised in subsequent elections, the number of women elected to the legislature fell sharply.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
