EXCLUSIVE-Algeria says to allow foreign NGOs to monitor election

ALGIERS, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Election observers from

U.S. non-governmental organisations the Carter Center and the

National Democratic Institute will for the first time be able to

monitor a parliamentary election in Algeria later this year, the

interior minister said on Tuesday.

"The new thing ... will be the presence of international

observers from the EU, the Arab League and so on, but also

international NGOs (non-governmental organisations) such as the

NDI and the Carter Foundation," Daho Ould Kablia told Reuters.

The minister said the government, accused of manipulating

past votes, would play only a logistical role in the May 10

election, while for the first time the vote will be supervised

by judges and political parties.

The minister said the new parliament's mission would be to

draw up a new constitution by the end of this year.

(Reporting by Lamine Chikhi)