Algeria’s Presidential Elections 2019: Bouteflika announces comprehensive reforms, constitution may be concerned

“All the political, economic and social forces” of the country would be invited to this Conference, destined to reach a “consensus on the reforms and changes our country should engage,” he said in his message to the nation, announcing his candidacy to the Presidential election of April 2019.

Besides the elaboration of this platform, the national Conference “could propose a deep enrichment” of the Constitution, in compliance with its clauses relating to the national constants, the national identity and the democratic and republican aspect of the State.”

The conclusions that would stem from this conference will be materialized through the “appropriate channels.”

Those objectives, he added, can be fulfilled “only if we work to improve governance within the State-run institutions and administrations and the public and private companies as well.”

This reflects the “particular interest we should absolutely give to the emergence of senior officials and the management of qualified and trained human resource we absolutely encourage and protect.”

The (ongoing) president argued that the achievements made so far “still need improvement” to “restore and strengthen” the citizens’ trust in the institutions.

This goal also requires “responses which must be adapted to the aspirations of our youth,” who sometimes keep themselves far from the political life and some of them choose to venture for exile in extreme and self-destroying attempts.”

He also plans to “ensure a stronger presence of youth in the executive bodies and the elected assemblies to define and implement the responses to their aspirations.”

Rule of Law, governance and social justice

The overall project also aims at « consolidating the Rule of Law and good Governance” and ”bolstering the economic development founded on the social justice and the affirmation of a national productive and competitive economy.”

In order to attain those objectives, Bouteflika considers that « first we need to defeat the scourge of bureaucracy through a growingly modern and decentralized public administration” and also increase the “citizens’ contribution to the management of local affairs, through the setting up of participatory democracy mechanisms.”

Regarding the consolidation of the Rule of Law, the stake is “strengthening justice independence” and guaranteeing “a more exhaustive application” of the judicial decisions.

“Further progress” in the fight against corruption must be made, through the “reinforcement of the bodies” in charge of the task and a “greater involvement of the civil society in this struggle.”

In the economic field, Bouteflika said that « all the necessary changes » which must be introduced with « no dogmatism at all» would concern the public and private sectors and their foreign partners, taking as the “efficiency and performance, job creation and the increase of the country’s revenues” as a benchmark

Concerning the social field, the principles of justice and equality are “national constants,” which achievement will require “updates to improve the citizens’ purchasing power and guarantee the continuity of our system of the civil protection.”

Concluding these « reflections on the constraints and the requirements” facing Algeria, the ongoing president called “to make prevail everything that units over what differentiates us from each other in the respect of the pluralism of the visions.”