ALGIERS (Reuters) – European Union observers on Saturday gave a qualified endorsement to an Algerian parliamentary election which handed victory to the ruling party, bucking the trend of the “Arab Spring” revolts.

Some opposition forces expressed suspicions there had been manipulation of Thursday’s vote. The authorities denied this.

Jose Ignacio Salafranca, head of the EU’s observer mission in Algeria, said there were shortcomings in some technical aspects of the election but there were “as many positive points as there were weak points.

“This election constitutes a first step on the path to reform which should lead … to a deepening of democracy and human rights,” he told a news conference.

The National Liberation Front (FLN), the party of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, won 220 seats in the 462-seat parliament.

The RND party, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, was in second place and a moderate Islamist alliance with links to the ruling establishment came third, according to the official results.

Analysts had expected the Islamists to win the election, That would have brought energy exporter Algeria closer into line with the changes in countries such as Tunisia and Egypt in the wake of last year’s insurrections.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria on Friday declared its ruling party for the past 50 years the victor in a parliamentary election, going against the tide of the “Arab Spring” which has transformed its neighbours.

The governing elite in Algeria, which supplies about a fifth of Europe’s imported natural gas, had promised reform and a new generation of leaders in response to last year’s upheavals in the region, but the election preserved the status quo.

Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia, who oversaw Thursday’s election, said the National Liberation Front (FLN) would be the biggest party in the new parliament, with 220 of the 462 seats.

The FLN was the movement which fought for independence from French colonial rule. Ever since, it has been at the heart of a system of power that has left Algerians so sceptical of their views being counted that over half the electorate did not vote.

“There is no change,” political analyst and writer Abed Charef told Reuters. “Algeria has invented the force of inertia.”

The official results showed that the FLN, whose honorary head is President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, had increased its share of seats to 47 percent from 34 percent.

Second place went to the National Democratic Rally (RND), with 68 seats. The RND is led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and was in second place to the FLN in the outgoing parliament.

ALGIERS, May 11 (Reuters) – Algeria on Friday declared its ruling party for the past 50 years victor in a parliamentary election, against the tide of the “Arab Spring” which has transformed some of its neighbours.

The governing elite in Algeria, which supplies about a fifth of Europe’s imported natural gas, had promised reform and a new generation of leaders in response to last year’s upheavals in the region, but the election preserved the status quo.

Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia, who oversaw Thursday’s election, said the National Liberation Front (FLN) would be the biggest party in the new parliament, with 220 of the 462 seats.

The FLN was the movement which fought for independence from French colonial rule and has been at the heart of power in Algeria ever since.

“There is no change,” political analyst and writer Abed Charef told Reuters. “Algeria has invented the force of inertia.”

The official results gave second place to the National Democratic Rally (RND), with 68 seats. The RND is led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia and was in second place to the FLN in the outgoing parliament.

The Green Algeria alliance, a grouping of moderate Islamist parties with links to the ruling establishment, was in third place with 48 seats.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria was to announce the results on Friday of a parliamentary election which the ruling elite trumpeted as a gentler route to reform than the “Arab Spring” uprisings in neighbouring states.

Many observers predicted a strong showing for moderate Islamists – a result that would bring the energy exporter closer into line with the trend elsewhere in north Africa after last year’s revolts.

But there were indications that despite the promises of reform, the historic ruling party, at the centre of the state since independence 50 years ago, would preserve its status as the biggest force in parliament.

Interior Minister Daho Ould Kablia, who is overseeing the election, was expected to announce the result of Thursday’s vote at about 3:00 p.m. Forecasting the result is guesswork because there are no reliable opinion polls.

The “Arab Spring” barely touched Algeria but did prompt calls for the country to embrace more democracy and to renew an establishment that has run the energy exporter’s affairs without interruption for half a century.

Algeria’s rulers responded by promising people an “Algerian Spring” – a managed process of reform, with Thursday’s election as the first step.

It was clear the election was not a clean break from the past. More than half of eligible voters abstained, with many saying they had no faith there would be real change, and some in the opposition alleged the vote had been rigged.

ALGIERS, May 11 (Reuters) – Results of an Algerian parliamentary election to be announced on Friday were likely to hand an unprecedented share of seats to moderate Islamists, easing pressure for change in a country left behind by last year’s “Arab Spring.”

But many people were mistrustful of promises from the ruling elite – in power uninterrupted since independence 50 years ago - that it was embarking on genuine democratic reform.

A strong performance for Islamists would bring Algeria, which supplies about one fifth of Europe’s natural gas imports, into line with Arab neighbours who have seen Islamists come to power after last year’s uprisings.

In contrast to countries such as Egypt and Tunisia, the Islamists seeking office in Algeria are firmly part of the establishment, have no radical agenda and are unlikely to try to undo the ruling elite’s grip on power.

Algeria’s rulers responded to the upheavals in neighbouring countries by promising its own people an “Algerian Spring” – a managed process of reform, with the election as the first step.

“The young people will make an Algerian Spring in this election,” said Bouguera Soltani, whose mildly Islamist “Green Alliance” coalition is tipped to become one of the biggest forces in the new parliament.

“The 2012 parliament is different from the previous ones because it will have new prerogatives. People who boycott (the vote) will regret it,” he said on Thursday as he voted near his home in Staoueli, a town west of the capital.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria votes on Thursday in a parliamentary election its rulers hope will deflect pressure for change after the “Arab Spring” upheavals, but many people will show their skepticism by abstaining.

Last year’s revolts in the region left Algeria largely untouched, but it is now under pressure to reform and renew the ageing establishment that has ruled the country without interruption since independence from France half a century ago.

The authorities in Algeria, which supplies about a fifth of Europe’s imported natural gas, have responded by promising a steady transition towards more democracy, starting with Thursday’s vote.

The election is likely to be the fairest and most transparent in 20 years, even though diplomats say it could be flawed. It is expected to give the biggest share of seats in parliament to moderate Islamists, mirroring the trend since the “Arab Spring” in countries such as Egypt and Tunisia.

In a speech on Tuesday, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 75, appealed to the country’s young people to vote and embrace the opportunity for change.

“I’m addressing the young people who must take over the baton because my generation has had its time,” he said. “The country is in your hands. Take care of it.”

However, many Algerians distrust the promises of reform. The election is shaping up to be less a contest between political parties and more a tug-of-war between the authorities and a large contingent who think voting is pointless.

ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria’s authorities say a parliamentary election on Thursday is a stepping stone towards a more democratic state, but many people do not believe their promises, expect only marginal change and will stay away from polling stations.

The north African country is under pressure to come into line with neighboring states, where “Arab Spring” uprisings last year pushed out autocratic leaders and are bringing hopes of genuine democracy for the first time.

The vote is likely, for the first time in Algeria’s history, to make Islamist parties the biggest bloc in the 462-seat national assembly, say diplomats and analysts. That will be in keeping with a trend in Tunisia, Egypt and elsewhere since the “Arab Spring.”

However, there is little chance that will lead to radical change: the Islamists who are expected to dominate are moderate and loyal to the ruling establishment. Several of their leaders are already ministers in the government.

Few Algerians have any appetite for upheaval in a country still haunted by a civil war in the 1990s that killed an estimated 200,000 people. The government has instead offered what it is calling a managed transition to greater democracy.

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said on Tuesday the election was a decisive stage in Algeria’s program of reform, and appealed to people to turn out and vote.

“This election … (is a) test of the country’s credibility,” he said in a speech in the eastern city of Setif.

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Months after rebels brought down the extravagant dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, the disarray in Libya’s state finances at the end of last year was so bad the new leadership did not know the size of state assets, how their money was being spent, or what had happened to more than $2 billion transferred from the sovereign wealth fund.

An internal National Transitional Council (NTC) document paints a picture of a government bureaucracy so fractured and disorganized that nobody appeared able to keep track of what money was coming in, and how much was going out.

Libyan officials say the anomalies in the state’s finances revealed in the document were the result of complex accounting rules, delays in settling bills and poor communication between government departments – not by money being misused or stolen.

But campaigners for financial transparency say that the disarray in tracking government finances creates a fertile environment for abuse to occur, particularly when Libya is now earning over $2 billion a month from selling crude oil.

“The proper management of public finances, especially oil revenues which make up 90 percent of government revenues, is crucial,” said Giulio Carini, a campaigner with the international anti-corruption group Global Witness.

“Any lack of transparency and accountability… fuels mistrust and suspicion that the interim and any future government of Libya is not taking the necessary steps to reverse the past legacy of mismanagement.”

Libya has lacked a strong, central government since the rebellion, backed by NATO jets and missiles, ended Gaddafi’s 42-year rule last year.

TRIPOLI, May 8 (Reuters) – - Months after rebels brought down the extravagant dictatorship of Muammar Gaddafi, the disarray in Libya’s state finances at the end of last year was so bad the new leadership did not know the size of state assets, how their money was being spent, or what had happened to more than $2 billion transferred from the sovereign wealth fund.

An internal National Transitional Council (NTC) document paints a picture of a government bureaucracy so fractured and disorganised that nobody appeared able to keep track of what money was coming in, and how much was going out.

Libyan officials say the anomalies in the state’s finances revealed in the document were the result of complex accounting rules, delays in settling bills and poor communication between government departments – not by money being misused or stolen.

But campaigners for financial transparency say that the disarray in tracking government finances creates a fertile environment for abuse to occur, particularly when Libya is now earning over $2 billion a month from selling crude oil.

“The proper management of public finances, especially oil revenues which make up 90 percent of government revenues, is crucial,” said Giulio Carini, a campaigner with the international anti-corruption group Global Witness.

“Any lack of transparency and accountability… fuels mistrust and suspicion that the interim and any future government of Libya is not taking the necessary steps to reverse the past legacy of mismanagement.”

Libya has lacked a strong, central government since the rebellion, backed by NATO jets and missiles, ended Gaddafi’s 42-year rule last year.

TIZI-OUZOU, Algeria, April 25 (Reuters) – It was a homecoming. After boycotting all national elections for more than a decade, Algeria’s oldest opposition party was back on the campaign trail in its heartland.

But the rally at a soccer stadium in this Berber town was a muted affair. About 1,500 people showed up, assembling around the half-way line. When a party leader led chants of “the authorities are assassins”, the sound echoed off empty seats.

Algeria’s authorities say they have heeded calls for change after last year’s Arab uprisings in nearby countries and will ensure a May 10 parliamentary election is truly democratic.

To back their argument that the vote will be different, they cite the decision of the opposition Front des Forces Socialistes (FFS) to end its boycott of polls it said were rigged.

The party is headed by Hocine Ait Ahmed, 85, who helped lead the fight half a century ago for Algeria’s independence from colonial ruler France. He once organised a post office robbery to fund the insurrection.

Soon after independence, he turned against Algeria’s new rulers, saying they were not democratic. He paid for his dissent with years of jail and exile, becoming a symbol of uncompromising, principled opposition.

Ait Ahmed and his lieutenants see the Arab revolts elsewhere as creating an opportunity for genuine change in Algeria, which shares the problems of youth unemployment and unaccountable rule that sparked revolutions in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.