Algeria: 6 Personalities and 12 political parties shun consultations on constitutional revision

The consultative meetings spearheaded by State Minister and Director of the Presidency’s office, Ahmed Ouyahia on the projected Revision of the Constitution in Algeria will kick off next Sunday, the Presidency of the Republic said Wednesday in a communiqué.

“Following the invitations sent on 15 May to the national figures, parties, organizations, civil society associations and academics to take part in the consultations on the project of Revision of the Constitution at the premises of the presidency of the Republic, these meetings are scheduled to start on Sunday 1^st June 2014,” the communiqué stressed.

The Presidency of the Republic underlined that the invitations sent have been accepted by “30 personalities out of 36, 52 political parties out of 64, all the 37 national organizations and associations and 12 university professors were slated to participate in this consultation process.

Between Sunday 1st and Thursday 5th June, Ahmed Ouyahia will receive at the Presidency headquarters “9 national figures, 8 political parties, Head of the Council of the Nation’s Presidential Group and 2 national organizations,” the same source added.

Six national figures and 12 political parties have decided to boycott these consultations arguing such an endeavor wouldn’t pave the way for the resolution of the crisis besetting state institutions, as they put it.

However, 30 national personalities have accepted to respond positively to Ouyahia’s invitation for these consultations including former leader of the MSP movement, Abudjerra Soltani and retired Army General and former Defense Minister, Khaled Nezzar while uncertainty still remains about the participation in this consultation process of former reformist Prime Minister Mouloud Hamrouche and former President Liamine Zeroual among other undecided figures.

These meetings will “be daily covered by the public media. Furthermore, the presidency of the Republic will publish a weekly communiqué on the assessment of these encounters”.

The personalities, parties, or organizations “can hold press conference or release communiqués, after their meetings as part of these consultations,” the source concluded.