Democratic National Rally

The Democratic National Rally (التجمع الوطني الديمقراطي; Rassemblement national démocratique, RND) is a political party in Algeria. The party held its Second Congress on 15–17 May 2003.

History
The RND was founded on 21 February 1997 in the midst of the Algerian Civil War for supporters of Liamine Zéroual, former head of ground forces of the Algerian military who had been elected president less than two years earlier (16 November 1995). Zéroual had run as an independent and won 60% of votes cast. In the Algerian Parliamentary elections held on 5 June 1997 the RND received more votes than any other party 156 out of 380 seats. In the next parliamentary elections five years later it came in third polling only 9.5% of the vote, winning 47 of 380 seats in the Algerian Parliament. In the 2007 election it obtained 10.33% of the vote and 61 seats out of the 389 seats. It is part of the presidential alliance, a three party political alliance created in 2005, the other two parties being the former sole legal party, the National Liberation Front, and the Movement for the Society of Peace.

The Georgetown University Berkley Center describes the RND as having "replaced" the FLN as the Algerian "state party" temporarily for the 1995 and 1997 elections "after the FLN was defeated by the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) in the 1991-1992 national legislative elections". That election was canceled by a military coup and the civil war that followed killed as many 200,000 Algerians, but once the Islamist insurgents were pacified to a large degree, the "FLN regained its place as the majority and ruling party".

RND Secretary-General Ahmed Ouyahia was appointed as prime minister on 23 June 2008.