Khalida Boufedeche becomes Algeria's first woman speaker

Algeria's parliament elected Khalida Boufedeche as its first woman speaker on Tuesday evening, making her the country's fourth-highest-ranking official.

Boufedeche is an allergist by training and represents Algiers. She belongs to the National Liberation Front, or FLN, the historic party of Algerian independence and an ally of the current government.

The FLN was the biggest winner in parliamentary elections earlier this month, taking 91 of the 407 seats. The vote recorded Algeria's lowest-ever turnout, at 21 percent.

Women remain sharply underrepresented in the chamber, with 25 seats, or six percent of the total. The previous parliament had 38 women members, while the one before that had 118 after 2017 elections held under a quota system.