In Algeria, elections are not the same as democracy, at least as far as the country's opposition is concerned. On Dec. 12, the country is scheduled to hold a presidential election following two previous delays, in spite of opposition demands that authorities hold off until they implement deeper reforms following the ouster in April of longtime President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. For one, the elections will test what Algerian activists and the opposition are willing to accept from the interim government in terms of political reform following 10 months of protests. Second, the elections will test just how far the Algerian military and security forces are willing to go to subdue the opposition if the latter rejects the government's overtures -- in this case, rush elections. How the poll plays out will show whether the protest movement can force a new political paradigm and continue to extract small concessions from the political...