The Algerian Assembly was the deliberative assembly of

French Algeria French Algeria ( until 1839, then afterwards; unofficially ; ), also known as Colonial Algeria, was the period of History of Algeria, Algerian history when the country was a colony and later an integral part of France. French rule lasted until ...

, created by the law of September 20, 1947, which enacted the Statute of 1947 for Algeria. The assembly was elected three times (April 1948, February 1951, and February 1954) before being dissolved by decree on April 12, 1956.

Mission

The Algerian Assembly was created as part of the legislative reorganization of Algeria and ended the system of governance through decrees.
Archived
Its powers were shared with the

French Parliament The French Parliament (, ) is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of the French Fifth Republic, consisting of the Senate (France), Senate (), and the National Assembly (France), National Assembly (). Each assembly conducts legislative sessi ...

regarding laws common to both

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France ( or ), also known as European France (), is the area of France which is geographically in Europe and chiefly comprises #Hexagon, the mainland, popularly known as "the Hexagon" ( or ), and Corsica. This collective name for the ...

and Algeria, as well as the military, electoral, judicial, and administrative organization of Algeria. The assembly approved budgetary plans, extended metropolitan laws to Algeria, and enacted specific regulations for Algeria that were not yet covered by metropolitan legislation. The assembly, first elected in April 1948, was dissolved by Decree No. 56-379 on April 12, 1956. Its powers were transferred to the Governor General of Algeria.

Composition

The assembly consisted of 120 members, elected equally by two

electoral colleges An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliamenta ...

. The first college included citizens "with French civil status," including approximately 58,000 Algerians who had obtained this status. The second college represented approximately 1,300,000 Muslim citizens. Elections in the second college were frequently marred by

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud, or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share o ...

orchestrated by the administration during the 1948, 1951, and 1954 elections. This was primarily aimed at suppressing victories by the Mouvement pour le triomphe des libertés démocratiques (MTLD) of

Messali Hadj Ahmed Ben Messali Hadj (; May 16, 1898 – June 3, 1974; commonly known as Messali Hadj, ) was an Algerian nationalist politician dedicated to the independence of his homeland from French colonial rule. He is often called the "father" of Algeria ...

and the Union démocratique du manifeste algérien (UDMA) of

Ferhat Abbas Ferhat Abbas (; ALA-LC: ; 24 August 1899 – 24 December 1985) was an Algerian politician who acted in a provisional capacity as the then yet-to-become independent country's Prime Minister from 1958 to 1961, as well as the first President of the ...

, both of which had won significant support in the 1947 municipal elections. *

1948 Algerian Assembly election Elections for a new Assembly were held in French colonial Algeria on 4 and 11 April 1948. The new 120-seat Assembly was to be elected by two colleges, each of which would vote for 60 seats; one college represented around 1,500,000 Europeans and A ...

1951 Algerian Assembly election Elections to the Algerian Assembly were held in Algeria on 4 and 11 February 1951. Like other post-1948 elections in French Algeria, it was rigged by the authorities to ensure the defeat of Algerian nationalists.Frank Tachau (1994) ''Political pa ...

* 1954 Algerian Assembly election

Organization and Functioning

Leadership

The assembly's bureau consisted of a president, three vice-presidents, and four secretaries. The presidency alternated annually between representatives from the two electoral colleges.

Mission

Composition

Organization and Functioning

Leadership

References

See Also