Hamas leader to Al-Wataniya TV: We should not wait until 2026 to launch the national dialogue – New Algeria

The new president of the Movement for Society for Peace, Abdelali Hassani Al-Sherif, in an interview with Al-Wataniya TV, reviewed his perceptions and ideas on several political and societal issues and developments, and expressed his positions on the issue of the national dialogue that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune spoke about in his inauguration speech, and called for accelerating its launch. Due to the nature of the political files presented, such as the election law, municipal and state law, and others regarding his evaluation of the performance of some government sectors.

You were candidates for the September 7th presidential elections, and it seems that you reached nearly a million votes. What is your assessment of the past presidential elections?

First, it must be emphasized that we did not deal with it as a simple presidential entitlement, but rather it represents a case of political transition from a situation that came after the popular movement, and through it, a picture can be drawn of a rising Algeria and an Algeria that has prospects that can be dealt with in light of the current events, transformations, and changes at all levels, and therefore The participation of the Society for Peace Movement had specific goals, which we have previously mentioned, related to the stability and security of the country, drawing its democratic image, and confirming the dimensions to which we belong.

Therefore, the Movement for Society for Peace dealt with this entitlement with all seriousness and responsibility, and we tried to demonstrate the capabilities through which we would contribute to the development of the country, and we had a contribution through a political program that we presented to the Algerian people, which we called “opportunity.” What is meant is that the Algerian people have an opportunity to overcome many failures. The people can take advantage of this opportunity to go to a rising Algeria that can emulate the existing transformations that do not have mercy on the weak and countries that are not immune to the social and economic dimensions.

We have realized that the presidential elections are an opportunity to strengthen the principle of struggle, which is a principle that preserves peoples and nations and helps push back corruption and tyranny and present an independent political alternative that can contribute to achieving political partnership in the country. The concept of partnership is not the quota logic of being in power and the centers of government in the country, but rather it is a concept. It indicates a broad political vision that unites Algerians around challenges, stakes, and prospects, because we are well aware of the magnitude of the challenges surrounding us.

What percentage of the party’s goals were achieved that were included in the “Forsa” program?

In fact, the goals are not included in the “Forsa” program, and there were no personal goals because the nomination was a party nomination, and the goals that were set during the presidential elections were all achieved except the result, and I do not want to return to comment on them because what happened in the presidential elections in the last semester tampered with the results and tried to spoil them. The electoral wedding, dwarfing the political participation of the parties, and highlighting that the elections are far from electoral credibility had it not been for the remediation that occurred, and this breach almost came upon the country. In the end, the Movement for Society of Peace dealt with the result politically and did not We deal with it digitally because political dealing requires us to overcome the political failure that occurred in the first stage due to the actors who want to abort all progress and a good image of Algeria, and resistance to change still exists.

Can you tell us about the details of the joint statement that brought together the three candidates for the presidential elections, including the free candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune, because we can say that what happened was “historic”?

The parties that stand behind each candidate from a legal and organizational standpoint have assumed their historical responsibility in order to miss the opportunity to spoil the electoral wedding, challenge the legitimacy of the elections, and attempt to present the results in an appearance that is inconsistent with the political process, the reality of the electoral campaign, and the size and reality of the projects that competed for the benefit of the nation, and we all agreed as candidates and registered parties. Its presence in the electoral process, despite the fact that the campaign phase took place in very good conditions, far from tensions and clashes, as the strong programmatic discourse registered its presence, and we, as the opposition, along with the Avas, built our discourse. On political criticism and criticism of trends in a calm atmosphere, and in the end what happened was that we assumed a historical responsibility and protected the country from any slippage that could lead to the legitimacy of institutions being challenged before international public opinion. This matter was overcome and we dealt with the issue in a political manner more than an electoral one.

Has a real discussion been opened within the movement about the weak results it achieved in the last presidential elections?

We do not have the real results, and the movement has no compunction to evaluate the results it achieved, and the path that the movement took in the presidential elections confirms that it is a real competitive force in these elections and presented a real political alternative based on a vision based on a widespread program, and the peace community was present. In 54 states and their clusters, we are not able to assess their size in view of the state of abstention, which is a fatal phenomenon for the political process in the country and for the political legitimacy of any elected institution, because the state of abstention will not allow the expression of the reality of programs and projects. Competing politics. Therefore, we dealt with this phenomenon with a serious and responsible discussion because we are a democratic party.

Here I should point out that no dissenting opinion was affected, and there were only warnings from some members because some leaders are obligated to be discreet, and speaking of failures, there is something we failed in and for which we do not bear responsibility, which is our inability to push the Algerians towards voting because we are not contributing to the reluctance, and the parties What contributed to this phenomenon is known, and there are several reasons behind it, which are economic and social reasons, failures of political authority, and the credibility of elections in the country..

After taking the constitutional oath, the President spoke about his approach towards a national dialogue for the sake of unification, which is the most prominent thing that the President promised during this term. What is your position and what are the foundations for the success of this dialogue, and can we reach a successful national dialogue and the political class did not?

In all of our statements, we focus on the necessity of dialogue in order to achieve the country’s political stakes and prospects, just as the challenges that exist must have commonalities, and commonalities are created through dialogue. The authority has its own assessment of the social, economic, and security reality and external risks, but we must cooperate in order to confront them through political dialogue. Which must be done by recruiting all Algerians to help stabilize the country, which is what the president spoke about in his inauguration speech. According to him, the dialogue will take place at the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026, and I think that there are files. It is urgent and requires agreement. There are important laws, the election law, the municipality law, and the state that need political discussion. These files should not be dealt with with an administrative mentality, which is the reason for ignoring many of the useful opinions that exist on the part of the political class, on politicians, and on those who want to share their opinions, which is what we emphasized previously. What is being hatched and planned? Against us, we must arm ourselves from the beginning. We must not be content with issuing periodic statements.

What is required today is to build our own vision based on political partnership, and based first on vigilance and anticipation of the transformations so that we can be at their level.

In order for the dialogue that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune spoke about to be successful, what are the foundations and principles on which it must be based?

Successful dialogue requires the availability of political will. There must be political will among all actors in the country in order for all files related to the country’s political stability and security to be discussed. There must also be transparency, and here I open a parenthesis to talk about the international file. There is no discussion about it because we are not We are closely informed about the issues that occur from time to time, and the social and economic fronts need real dialogue. We should not jump on the facts and always look towards the future.

When we always talk about dialogue, who is more deserving of it: political parties, civil society, or active political figures?

The Constitution says that the parties are the ones who perform a political message, and the civil society plays its relief, charitable and social role, and the one who carries out the political work is the political community. What matters to us today is that the political parties are strengthened and structured, meaning that the dialogue must be between the authority and the political actors and everyone who can make an actual contribution. And real.

Today, political society must be preserved because we lived through two important experiences in which political dialogue did not exist, and this is due to authoritarian practices at that time. I can point to the events of October 1988 and the popular movement of 2019. The political parties did not find parties for dialogue and with whom they would dialogue. For example, the authorities during the past two decades of time. Specifically, before 2019, it contributed to the fracture of all parties, diminished their roles, and rejected every initiative proposed at that time. When the popular movement came and the people left, Algerians took to the street to express their rejection of the continuation of tyranny and corruption projects, and the authorities were unable during that period to organize a political dialogue.

How do you see the new government, and have you sought a change in it?

We did not comment politically on the government because we are in the opposition, and this government is under the jurisdiction of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune. We only have a comment on the manner of performance of some government sectors and the failure of some sectors to achieve stability. As for the government staff and people, we have no comment because the constitution gives two options in forming the government. Either it will be a parliamentary majority government, or it will be for the president, and with regard to the structuring of ministerial sectors, it will be based on a diagnosis of sectors and according to the priorities of the presidential program and basic projects. The Movement for Society for Peace did not comment on the new government, not because we are not concerned with it, but rather it is part of the government. It is the president’s prerogative and he implements it without reference to the parties.

There is talk about holding advance legislative and local elections. Do you think it is necessary to hold these elections in advance when the councils need to be renewed?

We see that organizing advance legislative and local elections is one of the issues that requires dialogue and political debate, because taking this decision alone does not serve life, the political class, and the entire political community. If the authority wants to do this, it is supposed to be after consulting the parties, as surprise and a fait accompli policy do not serve the electoral process. And its success, and we have no information today about the possibility of it being performed.

Local elections cannot be organized directly except after amending the municipal and state law, and there is also the election law because the law currently in force contains many pitfalls that did not allow parties to be present in previous elections.

The conversation follows…