http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTsjUYzO4F9I1WKI8HAcroSvbR9fXkddTBfIMrhNuJNhTEyoJtMkAA ruling party leader says Islamists could take up to 40 percent of the vote in upcoming parliamentary elections in Algeria. Abdelaziz Belkhadem, the secretary-general of the National Liberation Front, the largest party in the parliament, spoke at a press conference Monday.

Algeria’s Islamist movement is divided into several parties. The largest is part of Belkhadem’s ruling coalition.

Even if Islamist parties take a plurality, they may not succeed in uniting and heading the next government as has happened recently in Tunisia and Morocco.

Algeria has promised transparent elections in May, and on Sunday called for the participation of international observers.

When an Islamist party was poised to win elections in 1991 in Algeria, there was a military coup.