Algeria PM: Amendments to constitution will shield country against tyranny

Algerian Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad said yesterday that the bill on constitutional amendments released by the Presidency is “consensual”, meets the demands of the popular movement and shields the state against “autocratic deviations” seen in the former regime.

Djerad ‘s statement was issued when the draft constitution was submitted to the Legal Affairs Committee in the National Popular Council in preparation for a vote tomorrow.

The Algerian Presidency on Monday released the final draft on amending the constitution, which the cabinet has approved.

The bill “will immune Algeria against the authoritarian deviations and the abuse of power seen in the recent past, former President Adelaziz Boutaflika’s rule, and will establish a modern state by promoting parliamentary monitoring and the separation of powers,” Djerad said.

He confirmed this by saying that the parliamentary majority could potentially form a government and reduce the president’s executive and judicial powers. He also stressed that this consensual constitution embodies President Abdelmajid Taboun’s electoral promises, as it reflects the people’s will expressed in the uprising of 22 February that ended the former abuses threatening statehood.

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