The Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has signed into law the country’s new constitution, months after the document was approved in a referendum that recorded an extremely low voter turnout, his office disclosed.
The 75-year-old president, who returned to Algeria only last week after spending two months in Germany where he was being treated for the coronavirus, has long presented the new charter as meeting the demands of protesters who, in April 2019, forced the stepping down of the country’s former president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
But the support which the document received wasn’t as impressive as expected, with less than 15 percent of the population voting in its favour in a November vote which was overshadowed by the novel coronavirus pandemic and following calls for a boycott.
Demonstrators in the North African country first took to the streets in February 2019 after the former president Bouteflika made known his intention to run for a fifth consecutive term in office, despite his health conditions.
Well after Bouteflika’s departure, the protests still continued with the members of the movement, known as the Hirak, demanding a complete overhaul of the country’s entire political system.
The newly signed constitution was pitched as responding to the demands of the Hirak but still maintains Algeria’s presidential regime and further expands the powers of the army, a central pillar of the state.
The Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune also approved Algeria’s 2021 budget which was in deficit, and is hoping to launch an inoculation campaign against the novel coronavirus, making use of the Sputnik V vaccine which was produced by its Russian ally as early as this month.
The president is also looking to diversify the economy of the nation which is heavily dependent on oil.
Oil and gas account for about 90 percent of Algeria’s total exports, and the revenue generated from this export is used to subsidise fuel, water, health care, housing and basic goods.