Algerian Islamists eye first election win since civil war

FILE PHOTO: Abdallah Djaballah, leader of al-Adala party, gestures during an interview at his office in Algiers, Algeria April 11, 2021. REUTERS/Abdelaziz Boumzar

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Islamist parties in Algeria expect to win parliamentary elections in June and take a major role in government, part of a strategy to gradually build clout within a system long dominated by a secular military that regards them with distrust.

While the military will retain ultimate power, the Islamists are taking advantage of political ructions caused by the mass protests that forced out veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika in 2019.