阿尔及利亚总统宣布民主改革计划 Algeria leader Bouteflika pledges constitutional reform

Algeria leader Bouteflika pledges constitutional reform

The speech was long awaited

 

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been in power for 12 years, has promised to amend the constitution to "strengthen democracy".

Delivering a long-awaited speech on state TV, he said a constitutional commission would be created to draw up the necessary amendments.
It was his first address to the nation in three months.
Unrest broke out in January with strikes, marches and rioting echoing protests elsewhere in the Arab world.
Under pressure to amend the constitution and limit presidential terms, the 74-year-old leader lifted the country's state of emergency in February, after 19 years.
However, the trigger for the unrest appears to be mainly economic, especially sharp increases in the price of food.
New laws
Algerians gathered around TV screens to watch the president, who looked frail and spoke in a hoarse voice.
"To crown the institutional edifice with the aim of strengthening democracy, it is important to introduce the necessary amendments to the constitution," he said.
"Active political currents" would join constitutional law experts in drawing up the amendments, he said.
In addition, the electoral law would be "revised in depth", with the participation of "the political parties, whether present [in parliament] or not".
A new information law would be introduced to replace existing legislation under which journalists have been jailed after writing articles critical of the president.
The new law would include "regulations for responsible blogging", the president said.
The current constitution, adopted in 1996, was introduced to strengthen presidential law and ban religion-based parties following Algeria's murderous war between the military and Islamist militants, in which some 150,000 people were killed.
Political analyst Mohamed Lagab cautiously welcomed Mr Bouteflika's speech.
"Acknowledging that political reforms - and not only social and economic reforms - will help to solve the crisis is key," the Algiers University academic told Reuters news agency.
"But Bouteflika did not give a deadline for the reforms he announced and he did not sack the government yet," he added.

阿尔及利亚总统宣布民主改革计划

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     美         |            2011年 4月 16日

 

阿尔及利亚总统阿卜杜勒阿齐兹.布特弗利卡迫于国内日益高涨的民主声浪宣布了修改选举法和修订宪法的计划。

布特弗利卡在星期五的电视讲话中说，为了加强民主，他将采取措施，来保证自由和公正的选举。他还说，他将任命一个专家委员会来提出修宪建议，以便使“宪法符合我们社会的根本价值观”。这些改革建议必须获得议会或全民公投的批准。

阿尔及利亚抗议者在过去几个月里要求实行民主改革。布特弗利卡总统在反对派面前作出让步，于2月间解除了19年之久的紧急状态。星期二，主要由学生组成的数千名示威者在阿尔及尔游行走向总统府。新闻报道说，有一些人要求教育部长辞职，其他人高喊反政府口号。