Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

: Tirni Iɣallen Inemlayen (RƔN) , logo = Socialist Forces Front.png , leader1_title = First National Secretary , leader1_name = Youcef Aouchiche , leader2_title = , leader2_name = , foundation = , headquarters =

Tizi Ouzou Tizi Ouzou or Thizi Wezzu (, Kabyle: Tizi Wezzu) is a city in north central Algeria. It is among the largest cities in Algeria. It is the second most populous city in the Kabylie region after Bejaia. History Etymology The name ''Tizi Ouzou' ...

, Algeria , ideology = , position =

Centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The c ...

, national =

Forces of the Democratic Alternative The Forces of the Democratic Alternative (french: Forces de l'alternative démocratique or french: Forces du pacte de l'Alternative démocratique (FPAD), kab, Yiɣallen n ubeddel agdudanagdudan, Arabic: العقد السياسي لقوى البد ...

, international = , seats1_title =

Council of the Nation The Council of the Nation ( ar, مجلس الأمة, Majlis al-Ummah) is the upper house of the Algerian Parliament. It is composed of 144 members, 2/3 of which are elected indirectly and 1/3 of which are appointed by the president of Algeria. ...

, seats1 = , legalised = 1990 , colours = , website = , country = Algeria , seats2 = , seats2_title =

People's National Assembly The People's National Assembly ( ar, المجلس الشعبي الوطني, al-Majlis al-Sha'abi al-Watani; ber, Asqamu Aɣerfan Aɣelnaw; french: Assemblée populaire nationale), abbreviated APN, is the lower house of the Algerian Parliament ...

, seats3 = , seats3_title = People's Provincial Assemblies , seats4 = , seats4_title =

Municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, seats5 = , seats5_title = People's Municipal Assemblies The Socialist Forces Front ( ber, Tirni Iɣallen Inemlayen (RƔN); ; ) is a

social democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...

and

secularist Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a sim ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

, mainly supported by

Berbers , image = File:Berber_flag.svg , caption = The Berber ethnic flag , population = 36 million , region1 = Morocco , pop1 = 14 million to 18 million , region2 = Algeria , pop2 ...

and

Kabyles The Kabyle people ( kab, Izwawen or ''Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', ) are a Berber ethnic group indigenous to Kabylia in the north of Algeria, spread across the Atlas Mountains, east of Algiers. They represent the largest Berber-speaking pop ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. The FFS is a member of the

Socialist International The Socialist International (SI) is a political international or worldwide organisation of political parties which seek to establish democratic socialism. It consists mostly of socialist and labour-oriented political parties and organisations. ...

and the

Progressive Alliance The Progressive Alliance (PA) is a political international of social democratic and progressive political parties and organisations founded on 22 May 2013 in Leipzig, Germany. The alliance was formed as an alternative to the existing Social ...

History and profile

Establishment and rebellion (1963)

The party was formed by

Hocine Aït Ahmed Hocine Aït Ahmed ( ar, حسين آيت أحمد‎; 20 August 1926 – 23 December 2015) was an Algerian politician. He was founder and leader until 2009 of the historical political opposition in Algeria. Life Aït Ahmed was born at Aï ...

on 29 September 1963 in the city of

to oppose

Ben Bella Ahmed Ben Bella ( ar, أحمد بن بلّة '; 25 December 1916 – 11 April 2012) was an Algerian politician, soldier and socialist revolutionary who served as the head of government of Algeria from 27 September 1962 to 15 September 1963 ...

's government. Following the party's creation, Aït Ahmed began an armed rebellion and captured a number of towns in

Kabylia Kabylia ('' Kabyle: Tamurt n Leqbayel'' or ''Iqbayliyen'', meaning "Land of Kabyles", '','' meaning "Land of the Tribes") is a cultural, natural and historical region in northern Algeria and the homeland of the Kabyle people. It is part of th ...

. The Ben Bella government, aided by the National Liberation Army, swiftly took control of the dissident towns during a mostly bloodless confrontation. The FFS rebels were not supported by the people and were pushed into the mountains by the government's army. Preferring to avoid direct conflict, the FFS and its soldiers retracted into the mountains from where they could launch guerrilla tactics. The rebellion was defeated in 1964 and Hocine Aït Ahmed was arrested and sentenced to death. The 1963 conflict resulted in 10 months of armed confrontation in the region, leaving more than four hundred dead, and most of the FLN leaders from Kabylia and the eastern provinces either executed or forced into exile. Hocine Aït Ahmed escaped prison in 1966 and fled to Switzerland.

Party legalization (1990)

The party was legalised in 1990. It however boycotted the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and 2007 legislative elections and the 2009 presidential election "calling it systematic electoral fraud in favour of the ruling parties"."Algérie : le FFS ira aux législatives"
''Le Figaro''. Retrieved on 10 May 2012.

2012 legislative election

Though former Prime Minister

Sid Ahmed Ghozali Sid Ahmed Ghozali ( ar, سيد أحمد غزالي) (born 31 March 1937 in Maghnia, Algeria) is an Algerian politician who was the Prime Minister of Algeria from 1991 to 1992. Early life He was a member of the National Liberation Front party an ...

urged a boycott on the grounds that the election would be "a foregone conclusion", the party decided to participate in the 2012 legislative election. Apart from international monitors being invited to observe the process, Algerian Workers' Party leader Louisa Hanoune, a quite successful candidate to the 2009 presidential elections, had announced to work towards an alliance of the two parties.L'Expression – Le Quotidien – Louisa Hanoune candidate à Alger
Lexpressiondz.com. Retrieved on 10 May 2012. Hocine Aït Ahmed wrote to the

saying that "participation in these elections is a tactical necessity for the FFS, which falls in line with (its) construction strategy of peaceful democratic alternative to this despotic regime, corrupt and destructive. he purpose of the partydoes not lie in a quota of seats to reach utin mobilising political yand peaceful yin our party and our people." With an electoral result of mere 2.47%, the party reached 27 seats making it the second-largest opposition power after the Islamist

Green Algeria Alliance The Green Algeria Alliance (french: Alliance de l'Algérie verte; ar, تكتل الجزائر الخضراء), short Green Alliance was an Islamist coalition of political parties, created on 7 March 2012 for the Algerian legislative election, ...

References

External links