Algerian Government - Essay Example

Algeria Algeria is an itarian regime that is presided over a popularly elected president. The president serves a term of approximately five years at which time another election is held. Many foreign observers have noted that these elections are what might be called “less than free and fair”. The reason for this is due to the fact that the vote counting and intimidation practices that are used help to give a desired result at the polls (Graffenried 12). The president has nearly total power as he can appoint the prime minister and is also head of the army.

In fact, the president is so powerful that the government can be defined by merely one man. Similarly, the country has a bicameral legislation that is composed of elected delegates who also serve 5 year terms.As compared with the government structure of the United States, there are many differences. Firstly, the President of the United States although head of the military does not share the same authoritarian power structure that the president of Algeria has. Similarly, the elections in the United States are mostly fair and free; not as the case with Algeria (Ruedy 8).

Although Algeria has one of the highest standards of living in the continent of Africa, the country still does not have the basic freedoms that democratic systems take for granted. Algeria is ranked very poorly with respect to human rights abuses as well as overall freedom of the press (Suer 5). Because of this and the authoritarian structure of its government, Algeria is not a form of government that many might necessarily chose to live under.Works CitedGraffenried, Michael. Inside Algeria.

New York, N.Y: Aperture, 1998.Ruedy, John. Modern Algeria : the origins and development of a nation. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2005.Sueur, James. Algeria since 1989 : between terror and democracy. Halifax N.S. London New York: Fernwood Pub. Zed Books, 2010.