Going on appearances, there is little reason to compare the elections held in recent days in Algeria and Turkey. Algeria's ballot, held last week, was marked by the withdrawal of all major opposition candidates two days before the poll; not surprisingly turnout was a lackluster 60 percent, although the opposition claims even that number is inflated. In contrast, Turkey's vote was bitterly contested. About 85 percent of voters turned out for Sunday's vote, and they handed incumbent Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit a slim victory over the Nationalist Action Party. Yet in both cases, two entities -- Islam and the military -- hovered like specters over the ballot boxes. And, unfortunately, in neither case are the results likely to stabilize national politics.

Start with Algeria. The winner, Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was backed by four political parties who control 85 percent of the Parliament. They put their considerable resources behind the candidate. The opposition, sensing a farce and fearing that the vote was rigged, refused to participate, handing Mr. Bouteflika his win.

There are ample reasons for suspicion. First, the military has been reluctant to let Algerian democracy run its course. The generals have not hesitated to intervene when the outcome has not been to their liking. Second, Mr. Bouteflika is a curious candidate. Having spent the last 20 years in virtual exile, he has no political base of his own. He owes his win to the parties that plucked him from obscurity -- and the military that stands behind them.