For Frenchmen the words "an Algerian election" have long served as satirical shorthand to describe a rigged vote, and Charles de Gaulle's first four elections in Algeria did little to change the time-honored meaning of the phrase. But for his fifth Algerian election, completed last week, De Gaulle's orders were strict: the French army was to put no pressure on Moslem voters; civilians were to run the polls and, where possible, the transportation to them. Last week De Gaulle had one result he was after: the first honest political profile of revolt-torn Algeria.
Purpose of the balloting...
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