Algiers, DZWatch – Prime Minister Sifi Gherib today presided over a conference at the Palais des Nations focusing on proposed technical amendments to the Constitution and the organic law related to elections. The event brought together key figures, including the Director of the President’s Office, Boualem Boualem, members of the government, leaders of various political parties, and the acting head of the National Independent Authority for Elections.
Director Boualem presented a proposal outlining ten suggested technical adjustments to the Constitution. These suggestions included:
1. Introducing an educational requirement for candidates seeking the presidency.
2. Establishing specific protocols for the presidential oath of office, clarifying the body before which the oath is taken and the entity administering it.
3. Granting the President the discretion to call for early local elections.
4. Removing the requirement for the Supreme Council of the Judiciary’s approval in the appointment of senior judicial positions, given the President’s role as head of the council.
5. Extending the term of the President of the Council of the Nation to six years from the current three, aiming to preserve experience and continuity.
6. Improving the organizational framework for ordinary parliamentary sessions, ensuring flexibility in their commencement in September and concluding after ten months.
7. Reorganizing the composition of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, suggesting the removal of representatives chosen by the parliamentary speakers, trade union representation, and the head of the National Council for Human Rights, while including the Attorney General of the Supreme Court.
8. Expanding the supervisory role of the National Independent Authority for Elections, which was established by the 2020 Constitution to prepare, organize, manage, and oversee elections, and assigning the responsibility for material and logistical preparations to the administration.
9. The proposed constitutional amendment also includes a transitional provision to address any constitutional gaps and provide a basis for the partial renewal of elected members of the Council of the Nation during their first term after the third year. This measure reinforces the principle of continuity within state institutions.
