National Liberation Front (Algeria) - FLN Under Bendjedid

FLN Under Bendjedid

Boumédiène held tight control over party leadership until his death in 1978, at which time the party reorganized again under the leadership of the military's next candidate, Col. Chadli Bendjedid. The military remained well represented on the FLN Central Committee, and is widely held to have been the real power-broker in the country. During the 1980s the FLN toned down the socialist content of its programme, enacting some free-market reforms and purging Boumédiène stalwarts.

However, it was not until 1988 that massive demonstrations and riots jolted the country towards major political reform. Rival political organizations were permitted, after the Algerian Constitution was amended to allow a multiparty system and democracy. The FLN was cut off from its privileged position in the state apparatus and military.

The electoral gains of the Islamist ISF, however, led in 1992 to a military coup d'état against the weakened FLN government. Algeria was under direct military rule for some time, and after formal democracy was restored, the FLN remained outside the ruling apparatus; the military clans in power now drew political legitimacy from other parties. The party remained in opposition to the government during the first part of the Algerian Civil War, notably in 1995 signing the Sant'Egidio Platform, which was highly critical of the military establishment. After internal power struggles and a leadership change, it returned to supporting the Presidency.