The National People's Assembly

The first legislative election in Algeria took place on September 20, 1962, that is to say a few months hardly after national independence. The purpose of the Assembly, elected for a one year mandate, was in particular to promulgate the fundamental law of the country, which gave rise to the Constitution of September 10, 1963, which will devote in particular the unicameral principle for the Algerian Parliament. The mandate of this National Assembly, will be seen prolonged one year in accordance with article 77. The recourse by the President of the Republic, October 03, 1963, with the exercise of the full powers, in accordance with article 59 of the Constitution, caused to freeze the activities of this National Assembly. From 1965 to 1976, it will be instituted at the top of the Algerian State the Council of the Revolution, agent of the sovereign authority (Ordinance of July 10 1965).The November 22, 1976, within the framework of the finishing of the institutions of the Algerian State, a new Constitution was promulgated, which will institute (Article 126) a single Chamber called National People's Assembly (APN), was charged with exerting the legislative power, was elected on February 25, 1977 for a five (05) years mandate, and was regularly renewed in 1982 and 1987.

The constitutional revision of February 28, 1989 will not derogate from the principle unicameral, by maintaining the Parliament Popular National, even if in addition it devotes a separation of the legislative powers, executive and legal (Article 92). The renewal of this Assembly, arrival in her term, was stopped by the resignation of the President of the Republic, which created a situation of gap in the law. This will involve the installation of transitory structures (High Committee of State and National Advisory Council then National of Transition Council), until the constitutional revision of November 28, 1996, which will modify the Algerian institutional landscape by founding a bicameral Parliament, composed of a APN (389 members), and of the Council of the Nation (144 members). These institutions were elected on June 5, 1997, and constitute the first pluralist Parliament of independent Algeria.