The People's Municipal Assembly (also known by its French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 acronym APW [short for Assemblée populaire de wilaya]) is the political body governing the provinces of Algeria

Algeria

Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...

. It is composed of an assembly elected on universal suffrage

Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

 for five years. This assembly further elects a president, the president of the People's Provincial Assembly. The highest person in the administrative pyramid of the provinces is the Wāli

Wali

Walī , is an Arabic word meaning "custodian", "protector", "sponsor", or authority as denoted by its definition "crown". "Wali" is someone who has "Walayah" over somebody else. For example, in Fiqh the father is wali of his children. In Islam, the phrase ولي الله walīyu 'llāh...

, the Muslim

Islam in Algeria

Islam, the religion of almost all of the Algerian people, pervades most aspects of life. The vast majority of citizens are Sunni Muslims. Islam provides the society with its central social and cultural identity and gives most individuals their basic ethical and attitudinal orientation. Orthodox...

 equivalent of a governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

, which is chosen by the president

President of Algeria

The President of Algeria is the head of state and chief executive of Algeria, as well as the Commander-in-Chief of the Algerian armed forces.-History of the office:...

. The last votes for the PMAs and the PPAs where on November 29th, 2007.