Algerian Presidency Announces 10 Proposals for Technical Constitutional Amendment
Algerian Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb chaired on Saturday the launch of a seminar on the two draft projects, namely, the technical amendment to the Constitution and the organic law relating to the electoral system.
The conference was attended by the Chief of Staff at the Presidency of the Republic, Boualem Boualem, members of the government, leaders of political parties, and the Acting President of the Independent National Authority for Elections (ANIE).
In this regard, the Chief of Staff at the Presidency of the Republic delivered a presentation outlining ten proposals for the technical amendment of the Constitution.
The proposals include the requirement to introduce proof of an educational level as a condition for candidacy for the position of President of the Republic. Moreover, regulating the procedures for taking the constitutional oath by proposing optimal regulatory arrangements, including defining the body before which the oath is taken and the authority that administers the constitutional oath.
The proposals also include the possibility of granting the President the authority to call for early local elections, as well as removing the requirement to obtain the binding opinion of the High Judicial Council for appointments to specific positions or for the annual transfers of presidents of judicial councils and heads of state prosecutors, given that the President of the Republic is the Chairman of the High Judicial Council.
According to the presentation, the proposals include setting the term of office of the Speaker of the Council of the Nation at six years instead of three, in order to preserve accumulated experience and ensure continuity, and to avoid the disruption resulting from partial renewal. The proposals also include improving the regulatory framework for holding ordinary parliamentary sessions and ensuring flexibility in their opening in September, with the session concluding after ten months.
Additionally, a proposal to reorganize the composition of the High Judicial Council was presented, suggesting the removal of three categories: members appointed by the two Speakers of Parliament, trade union representation, and the President of the National Human Rights Council, in exchange for including the membership of the Attorney General of the Supreme Court.
Concerning the Independent National Authority for Elections (ANIE), which “was entrusted by the 2020 Constitution with the tasks of preparing, organizing, and conducting the electoral process and supervising it without specifying its oversight role, and in order to fill the void, it is proposed to expand its oversight tasks and entrust it with the task of material and logistical preparation for the administration.”
The draft technical amendment to the Constitution also proposes “the inclusion of a transitional provision to be relied upon when necessary to fill a constitutional vacuum and provide a basis for the mid-term renewal of the members of the Council of the Nation elected during their first term of office after the third year, so as to enshrine the principle of continuity of state institutions and avoid disruption.”
In addition, the document proposes to “include a transitional provision aimed at setting deadlines for the compliance of institutions and bodies whose legal system or composition has changed, by stipulating the necessity of such compliance within reasonable time limits.”
