BOUTEFLIKA LAUNCHES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ALGIERS 001163

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/28/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM AG
SUBJECT: BOUTEFLIKA LAUNCHES CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
PROCESS

Classified By: DCM Thomas F. Daughton; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) SUMMARY: President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced on
October 29 that he will convene a special session of
parliament in the coming weeks to effect a partial and
limited revision of the Algerian constitution. The changes
he outlined would open the way for him to seek a third term
as president. In a speech before the Constitutional Council
and the senior judiciary, Bouteflika said he would propose
measures to protect the symbols of the revolution, reorganize
and clarify executive powers, and permit the people to
exercise their right to choose their leaders. He also said
the revisions would open the door to more women in
government. While he gave no date for the special
parliamentary session, sources tell us that the parliament
has already formed a commission to establish rules and manage
the session, and that members have been told they will be
convoked on November 9. END SUMMARY.

FINALLY, A SIGNAL OF INTENT
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2. (U) In a speech before the Constitutional Council at a
ceremony launching the new judicial year, President
Bouteflika announced that he would propose to parliament a
set of revisions to the constitution "to enrich the
institutional system with the fundamentals of stability,
efficiency and continuity." Saying that he had "on multiple
occasions" expressed his support to "review the constitution
when circumstances permitted," Bouteflika tried to ease
concerns about constitutional revision by asserting that
"constitutions are the product of human effort" that should
be "improved and perfected" because they are "the expression
of the will of the people at a precise time in history."
Specifically, he said, he will propose three measures to
protect "the symbols of the glorious revolution that should
not be touched, altered or manipulated; to "reorganize and
clarify the prerogatives and relations between the elements
of executive power without affecting the balance of powers";
and "to permit the people to exercise their legitimate right
to chose their leaders and to renew them with confidence and
complete sovereignty." He added that he would also propose a
measure to "guarantee the political rights of women."


3. (C) His comments concerning executive reorganization and
giving the people the right to "renew their leaders" were
universally interpreted as a signal that Bouteflika will
remove the existing presidential term limitation and allow
himself to seek a third term. The reference to "symbols of
the revolution" may refer to a series of recent assertions by
the government that as many as 12,000 persons are erroneously
receiving benefits reserved for fighters of the war of
independence. In March, Bouteflika publicly promised to take
steps to increase the number of women in government, so a
constitutional measure to this effect would fulfil that
promise.

MOVING QUICKLY
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4. (C) When asked after the speech when the parliament will
meet to consider the constitutional revisions, Prime Minister
Ouyahia was quoted on state radio as saying, "before the end
of the month." Within an hour of the speech we were told by
contacts in the parliamentary bureaucracy that MPs were
already notified to be ready to assemble on November 9, and
that a joint commission was being stood up on October 29 to
formulate the rules governing the session.

I TRUST THE PEOPLE, BUT...
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5. (U) Bouteflika said he would seek the revisions under
Article 176 of the current constitution, which requires
three-fourths approval by both houses of the parliament. He
said he wouldn't hesitate "even for an instant to consult the
people directly" regarding a constitutional revision, but "in
light of experience from these recent years," and after
having gauged the times and "interferences from different
powers," he found it necessary to introduce certain urgent,
corrective measures to guarantee the proper management of the
affairs of state. Regarding a provision to guarantee the
political rights of women, Bouteflika noted a need to enlarge
women's representation at all levels of elected assemblies.

ALGIERS 00001163 002 OF 002



COMMENT: LOOKING FOR A LEGACY
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6. (C) Bouteflika first proposed to amend the constitution in
2005, suggesting he would do it through popular referendum.
Talk of amendments abated when he became seriously ill in
late 2005, only to revive a year later with his return to
apparent health. Speculation has been rampant for over a
year about when and how he would announce the actual process,
with conventional wisdom saying in recent months that the
approach of the presidential election in April 2009 meant
there was no longer time for a referendum. Bouteflika chose
to announce his intent to proceed with revision in a ceremony
at the seat of the Constitutional Council, just two days
before a national holiday marking the 54th anniversary of the
beginning of the independence war against the French. He
appears to have settled finally the question of whether he
will seek a third term, as well as whether the constitution
will be opened up for major changes. The limited focus of
the changes he outlined matches the conservative and
methodical style with which he has governed. The two
provisions that will accompany the change to term limits
almost seem designed to frame Bouteflika between the past,
via the effort to enshrine the symbols of the Algerian
revolution, and the future, by means of his attempt to fill a
noticeable void of women leaders in Algeria. Bouteflika may
finally be admitting that he is seeking to establish a
legacy, but he has left key questions about centers of power
and succession in limbo.
PEARCE