In the parliamentary elections held on 2 July 2026, the National Liberation Front (FLN), National Democratic Rally (RND) and the El-Moustakbel Front (FM) won 221 out of 407 seats. The election saw a record-low voter turnout and an exclusion of candidates. While women’s representation in the National People’s Assembly continues to decline, the Assembly elected its first female speaker in a historic first.
The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria held its legislative elections on 2 July 2026. The pro-government coalition, consisting of the National Liberation Front (FLN), the National Democratic Rally (RND) and the El-Moustakbel Front (FM), won 221 out of the 407 seats in the National People’s Assembly. Voter turnout in Algeria continues to decline. More than 23.9 million Algerians are registered voters; however, only 21.2% voted in the 2026 parliamentary elections, compared to 23% in 2021.
The election period saw an unprecedented number of candidates excluded. According to acting ANIE president Karim Khelfane, more than 3,700 prospective candidates were barred from running, while roughly 10,000 were approved. The main legal basis for the exclusions is Article 200 of the Electoral Code, introduced in April 2026, which prevents so-called "dirty money" from influencing the vote, a provision that critics say grants authorities excessively broad discretion. The exclusions cut across both the opposition and parties close to the authorities: the FLN and the RND saw roughly 450 and 300 candidatures rejected, respectively; the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP) recorded 215; and almost half of outgoing MPs were unable to stand again. A new organic law on political parties, No. 26-08 of 23 April 2026, further provides for the dissolution of parties that fail to field candidates in two consecutive electoral contests, effectively making participation in the vote a condition of institutional survival for parties.
ANIE’s invalidation of candidate lists on 30 May 2026 provoked strong reactions from opposition parties and civil society, against a backdrop of persistent restrictions on public debate. The vote took place amid marked public apathy, compounded by the cost of living and shrinking civic space, with polling stations largely empty for much of election day in the capital, Algiers.
Algerian women are underrepresented in decision-making positions and their representation in the Algerian legislature continues to decrease. Of the 9,854 candidates admitted for the 2026 elections, 2,032 were women, representing 21% of the total, while 54% of candidates were under the age of forty.
Since the 2026 parliamentary elections, Algeria recorded its lowest level of women’s representation in the National People’s Assembly since the adoption of the quota in 2012. Women accounted for 6.1% of the members elected to the lower house in 2026, compared to 8.1% in 2021. In the upper house too, women's presence remains marginal: on the eve of the legislative elections, women held only 4 of the 164 seats in the Council of the Nation, or 2.4% of members.
While women’s representation declined in the lower house, the People's National Assembly elected Ms Khalida Boufedeche as speaker. She is the first woman in Algeria’s history to hold this position.
Female representation at the government level is also low. At the cabinet level, women hold 21.9% (7 of 32) of the ministerial positions. They hold the following positions:
Advancing Women’s Rights: Legislative Progress
The legal framework on women's participation and representation in Algeria has gone through three distinct phases over the past decade and a half. Following the Arab Spring protests, Algeria adopted a gender quota law reserving one-third of the seats in the People's National Assembly and local assemblies for women. In 2021, Algeria increased the quota to 50% and established that candidate lists failing to meet the requirement would be rejected. In April 2026, the Council of the Nation approved a further amendment to the Electoral law, replacing the gender-parity principle on candidate lists with a quota limited to one-third of female candidates, despite reservations voiced in the chamber by several women parliamentarians.
The political rights of Algerian women are enshrined in the Algerian Constitution. Under Article 59, the State commits to “promoting the political rights of women by increasing their chances of access to representation in elected assemblies.” The Constitution also guarantees principles of equality and non-discrimination and provides all citizens with the right to vote and to be elected. Notably, the Constitution also commits to protecting women “from all forms of violence in all places and situations in the public, professional, and private sphere”. Furthermore, it provides that the law not only shall guarantee victims access to shelter and care facilities, but also to “appropriate appeal methods, and free legal assistance.”
Despite their strong presence in other fields, Algerian women’s political representation in decision-making positions and processes have continued to decline. The persistence of barriers prevents women from translating their presence on party candidate lists into positions of decision-making power and influence.
Among those obstacles are legal barriers. Although Algeria have implemented legislation aimed at increasing women’s political participation and representation, weak enforcement and the gradual reduction of targets have resulted in the regression of the percentage of women elected. The implementation of the quota initially had a positive impact, raising women's representation from 7.7% in 2007 to 31.6% in 2012. The most recent reform not only reduced the target from parity to one-third, but it also reduced the obligations imposed on political parties to ensure women’s representation.
Women candidates also face obstacles in accessing electoral competition. For example, gathering the signatures required for independent candidates is often complex and lacks transparency. Moreover, women struggle to compete against rivals with greater political and financial resources and do not always receive adequate support from their own parties.
Fatma Zohra Zerouati, former Minister of the Environment and Renewable Energies, confirms that the political environment has not “allowed women to get into higher decision-making positions in significant numbers. The present political ecosystem is not attractive enough to encourage women's participation in politics.” Algerian women are subject to discrimination and strict gender roles due to the religious beliefs and social rules that see women excluded from the political environment
Algeria has seen declining voter participation in elections in recent years. The low voter turnout has had a negative impact on women’s representation. According to political activist Fatima Maskour, electoral abstention and weak media support hinder Algerian women from shifting numerical representation to decision-making roles. Moreover, in the 2026 elections, women entered a political environment in which they faced a dual challenge: “first, convincing voters to participate, and second, persuading them to cast their votes for women.”
Women have always been an important part of Algeria’s political life and have a long history of advocating for change. Algerian women participated as combatants in the War of Independence (1954–1962) and during the Arab Spring and the Hirak protests in 2019 and 2020. Legal professionals, political activists, women’s rights organisations and activists are actively calling on members of parliament to not only expand laws protecting women’s rights, but also to ensure that these laws are enforced.
Women’s organisations played a significant role in advocating for laws strengthening women’s and girls’ rights. As early as 2006, the CIDDEF (Centre d’Information et de Documentation sur les Droits de l’Enfant et de la Femme) brought together several civil society organisations in a memorandum calling for a mandatory minimum quota of 30% women on party lists, backed by financial penalties for non-compliance, and for its extension to all types of elections, including local ones. Their proposal was later partially taken up by lawmakers with the introduction of quotas in 2012, illustrating Algerian civil society's capacity to translate advocacy into specific legislative proposals.
At the legislative level, several women parliamentarians publicly voiced their reservations when the April 2026 electoral amendment was put to a vote, signalling that the issue of women's representation remains a point of political friction even in an Assembly with a large pro-government majority. Since the adoption of the amendments to the Electoral Law in April 2026, activists have resumed their advocacy efforts and are actively working on “bringing the issue of women’s political representation back into the public debate.”
The 2026 parliamentary elections in Algeria were marked by a record turnout of 21.2% and a reported exclusion of candidates. The National Liberation Front, together with the party’s allies - the National Democratic Rally and the El-Moustakbel Front – secured 221 seats out of 407 (about 54%) in the lower house.
Women’s representation in the National People’s Assembly continued to decline from 8.1% elected in 2021 to 6.1% following the 2026 elections. It represents a regression of women elected to the lower house and hard-fought gains achieved following the Arab Spring. The outcome can in part be attributed to the legislative trajectory that, in little more than a decade, took Algeria from mandating a 33% quota to parity and finally returning to a 33% quota, with none of these reforms accompanied by genuinely binding enforcement mechanisms.
This regression does not, however, exhaust the picture of Algerian women's political engagement. The election of Khalida Boufedeche as Speaker of the People's National Assembly in July 2026, the first woman to hold that office in the country's history, represents a significant institutional precedent, even if an isolated one against the broader trend.
Closing the representation gap will require, according to Algerian women's rights organisations themselves, not only the restoration of genuinely binding and enforceable quota mechanisms but also parallel action on the structural causes of women's political exclusion, such as unequal access to the economic and financial resources needed to run a campaign. It will require not only the advocacy of women’s rights organisations and feminist activists, but also the commitment of elected officials and political teams to champion this cause over the long term.