In the crosshairs of the authorities for having supported the Hirak, the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD) is preparing to renew its governing bodies.
The race for succession at the head of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD, founded in 1989) is launched. The general assemblies of the wilayas (prefectures) will take place between April 15 and 30 to elect the delegates and identify potential candidates among them, we learned from Aomar Saoudi, president of the commission for the preparation of the sixth congress, announced for June 4 and 5. “The list of applicants remains open, however, until the congress,” the RCD executive told Jeune Afrique.
The support given by the RCD to the popular demonstrations which began on February 22, 2019, to oppose a fifth term for former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and to demand an end to the system in place since independence in 1962, has earned such pressure on the party that in some regions, sympathizers and some activists fear displaying their colors.
Less than two months before the congress, Atmane Mazouz, a former deputy and member of the party’s leadership, is the only one to emerge from the woods. In a letter addressed to the militants on April 4, he announced his ambition to take the reins of the RCD, a formation well anchored in Kabylia.
Capitalize on the Hirak
“Child of the party, my conviction tells me not to run away from my responsibilities in these times of difficulty and terror. My experience and the support I have within the framework of my party and the collective of activists ended up convincing me to stand as a candidate”, confides the former president of the parliamentary group.
“If there are other applicants, so much the better, it will allow a competition and it is up to the delegates to decide”, he adds. The pre-congress games are scheduled for May to discuss the draft statutes and party program.
DESPITE THE PERSECUTIONS, THE PARTY WILL HAVE ITS SAY THANKS TO ITS SEASONED MILITANTS
“Activists propose that in future the president of the party be elected by the national council. This is the main adjustment that could be introduced in the statutes. For the program, the fundamentals will be maintained, we will simply include the lessons learned from the February 2019 revolution,” says Aomar Saoudi.
This is an important step in the history of this opposition political formation, which is constantly in the crosshairs of the authorities. But the challenge of this sixth congress is not only the election of a new president. It will also be for the party to capitalize on the experience and the audience acquired during the Hirak to be at the heart of the democratic alternative.
“The RCD is already investing in the regrouping of democratic forces, we will continue on this path to impose a balance of power. Despite the persecutions, the party will have its say thanks to its seasoned militants, ”promises the candidate, under the influence of several legal proceedings.
On October 21, 2021, Atmane Mazouz was sentenced to one year in prison, accompanied by a fine of 50,000 dinars (320 euros), after his hearing, in March, by the national gendarmerie, on the trip he had carried out in Oran, in December 2019, to support the Hirak demonstrators, harshly repressed during this 44th Friday.
Judicial pressure
In May 2021, he was heard for two hours by the investigating judge near the court of Sidi-Aïch (wilaya of Béjaïa) about his statements and his publications on social networks considered by justice as an “incitement to the crowd” and “contempt of the corporate body and attack on the person of the President of the Republic”. ‘I know the times are tough and there are more pressures to come. Despite that, I did not hesitate to apply,” insists Atmane Mazouz.
Mohcine Belabbas, president of the RCD since 2012, who does not wish to be a candidate for his own succession, is also under judicial pressure. On January 10, he was placed under judicial control by the investigating judge near the court of Hussein Dey (Algiers) in the context of the case of the death of a Moroccan national who was carrying out work at his home.
Mohcine Belabbas had his parliamentary immunity lifted in December 2020 at the request of the Ministry of the Interior. On January 6, 2022, the RCD also received a formal notice from the same department for having hosted a political meeting on its premises on December 24.
A SOCIAL CRISIS IS LOOMING. YOU CAN’T REPRESS FREEDOMS AND BELLY AT THE SAME TIME
That day, activists and members of civil society created a Front against repression and for freedoms within the premises of the party headquarters. In its notification, the Ministry of the Interior threatens to apply the measures provided for in article 66 of the organic law relating to political parties. In this case, a temporary suspension could lead to the dissolution of the party.
As of June 23, 2020, the Ministry of the Interior seized the management of the RCD, accusing it of carrying out anti-statutory activities, namely lending its premises to non-approved organizations.
Balance of power
What about the footprint to be given to the party after the Sixth Congress? “The party already has an identity that must be preserved. I will try to strengthen the contribution of youth and insist on generational complementarity,” pleads Atmane Mazouz.
On the political level, “the RCD, which is already working for a democratic regroupment, will continue on this path in order to be able to impose a balance of power”, he said.
“Our militants know that the situation is very difficult, the RCD cannot organize public meetings, nor express itself on television, but I think that there are political currents which have a popular anchorage like our party, the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS), the National Liberation Front (FLN) and certain Islamist parties that cannot be excluded from the solution. Especially since a social crisis is looming. We cannot repress freedoms and stomachs at the same time. I think that at the head of the state, we are aware of that,” concludes Aomar Saoudi, also in charge of economic issues at the RCD.
