Algeria sets 1 November for constitutional reform

The popular referendum on the draft reform of the Constitution will be held on 1 November, despite the profound health crisis the country is experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Algeria has been one of the countries most affected by the pandemic in the Maghreb, not only in the number of cases but also in the lack of beds and resources in the hospitals.

In a communiqué broadcast on state television, the president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, announced that the referendum would be held and explained that the date had been agreed following a meeting between the president and the president of the Independent National Electoral Authority (ANIE), Mohamed Chorfi, according to Agencia Efe.

This consultation is intended as a response to the Hirak, a protest movement that has been filling the streets of Algeria to demand the resignation of the government apparatus since 2019.

The choice of 1 November has a symbolic significance as that day marks the beginning of the war for independence against France in 1954, and is intended to mark a new stage for the North African country.

"In the light of the President of the Republic's consultations with the parties concerned, it was decided to set 1 November 2020 as the date for the referendum on the draft revision of the Constitution," reads the text circulated by the Algerian authorities.

Since mid-December 2019 Tebboune has been president of the Republic of Algeria in an election that recorded the highest abstention in the country's history, and on taking office he undertook to revise the country's basic law, which was tailored to his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

In the new Magna Carta, the prime minister and parliament will be given more power to govern.

Every Tuesday and Friday since 22 February 2019, thousands of Algerians have taken to the streets to demand an end to corruption and a change to end the military system that has dominated the country since its independence from France in 1962.

The Hirak, which means movement in Arabic, achieved its first goal: the resignation in April 2019 of Bouteflika, who had been in power since 1999, but what they are asking for is the application of articles 7 and 8 of the Constitution and "to give power to the people".