CONSTANTINE: Eating couscous as he leans against the mosque wall, Mohamed believes the highest office in the land is a distant hope for Algerian Islamists, but he isn't losing heart.
Places of worship and poor neighbourhoods are the focus for activists campaigning for moderate Muslim party leader Abdallah Djaballah to win the presidency on April 8.
The rise of Djaballah and of his El Islah party marks a turnaround in the fortunes of the Muslim movement in Algeria due to their indirect association, even if unfairly, with a decade of violence led by fundamentalist militants.
"As long as Djaballah does not break laws, there is no reason not to vote for him," said student Kheiredine, who declined to give her full name, in Constantine - Algeria's third largest city.
"Islamic-linked violence is a thing of the past. Things have changed a lot. People don't rule out seeing a moderate Islamist elected president in the future." Algeria is emerging from a civil war that claimed the lives of more than 150,000 people, mostly civilians, according to human rights groups.
A holy war was declared by rebels after the authorities scrapped parliamentary elections which the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was set to win in 1992, jailed its leaders and banned the party.
VOTES HARD FOUGHT: More than a decade later, campaigning for the presidential election is in full swing and everyone is courting the Muslim vote. No one knows how big this is but they say it is a crucial factor.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has secured the backing of the smaller moderate Muslim party MSP. El Islah came third in local elections in 2002. It has pushed through parliament laws forcing the army and security forces from voting in barracks and banning alcohol imports.
Djaballah - who grew up in Constantine and was detained several times in the 1980s for his radical sermons - has vowed to boost political and press freedom and respect the constitution. Unlike the other candidates he reads the Holy Quran at the start of each rally.
A sign of changing times, a split has emerged within the traditional religious movement, with key members of the FIS supporting Djaballah or Bouteflika.
The Paris-based research institute IMMAR said in a poll published last month that 10 per cent of voters would pick Djaballah, compared with 17 for former prime minister Ali Benflis and 55 per cent for Bouteflika.
"But one must note that the usual underestimation of the Muslim voter means Djaballah could come second," IMMAR said. The armed forces, influential in the selection of all leaders since independence in 1962, have promised not to stand in the way of any candidate, though few analysts believe this includes Djaballah.
CHANGING TIMES: Analysts say people do not want a repeat of the 1991-92 elections when they voted for the FIS. They are more concerned now with economic and social issues. "Voters have learnt from the past decade's scenario. They have become more pragmatic," said local journalist Omar Chabbi.
Some 75 per cent of Algeria's 32 million people are under 30, often unemployed and care little for men dressed in traditional robes preaching Muslim values. An increasing number do not go to the mosque.
Many youths of Constantine, a conservative city with deep ties to the religious movement, said they would opt for continuity if they voted, not an untested politician.
"If you want adventure follow the adventurer...but if you want stability, durable development and prosperity than we all have a rendezvous (on April 8)," Bouteflika said on the campaign trail.
Constantine Mayor Khetim Kherraz said challenges were endless. "There are so many social and economic problems. We cannot resolve all of them," he said. Analysts say El Islah has highlighted the problems in its campaign as did the FIS more than 10 years ago.
"El Islah bets on its reputation and its leader's policies. The regime failed to contain social riots, corruption and low purchasing power," said Constantine El Islah leader, Moncef Bounab.
Analysts do not expect Djaballah, who boycotted the last 1999 vote saying he believed it was rigged, to win this time but they predict that the religious movement will gather momentum. -Reuters
