Algeria approves a new Constitution weighed down by a historic abstention

• Plebiscite: Algeria votes a new Constitution in a referendum to limit presidential terms to two

• Protests: Algeria seeks to overcome the year in which it said goodbye to Abdelaziz Buteflika

Algeria is endowed with a new Magna Carta, after being

.

The plebiscite held on Sunday, however, has been marked by a massive boycott that makes the Constitution born with bones of glass.

The participation rate has barely reached 23.7%, making it the lowest in the history of Algeria.

In Kabylia, a region that systematically ignores the polls, most polling stations never even opened in the big cities.

Despite the victory of the 'yes', the record abstention registered constitutes a true humiliation for the Algerian regime, which

, the popular protest movement that demands a civil state without the protection that the generals exercise on Algerian politics since its independence from France, in 1962. In February 2019, a wave of demonstrations broke out that kept the system in check until the brutal repression and the appearance of Covid-19, last March, made rallies impossible of protest.

The 'Hirak' demolished 20 years of the presidency of Abdelaziz Buteflika, but

.

In the presidential elections of December 12, participation already marked a record low, without even reaching 40%.

This caused Abdelmayid Tebune, 74, to be elected president with much questioned legitimacy.

Now he has received another blow, since this constitutional referendum was

to win the confidence of the citizens in his promises to 're-found' the republic.

It has not helped that Tebune has been admitted since last week in a hospital in Germany, without having been informed transparently about his ailment.

Despite this, this Monday the Algerian authorities announced the result with unusual enthusiasm.

"Now we have a 'halal' Constitution," said the president of the National Independent Authority for Elections (ANIE),

, when announcing the results, according to the online media TSA.

With 'halal', Charfi refers to the "legal" and "constitutional" conditions in which the vote was held, distancing himself from the

presented by the successive referendums and votes carried out under the 'It was Buteflika'.

The previous constitutional revision, in 2016, for example, was adopted with a participation of 80%.

"The conditions in which this referendum was held were a challenge," the head of the ANIE has justified himself, who has attributed the depressed electoral environment to the coronavirus.

Success of the 'Hirak' strategy

The 'Hirak', for its part, can claim victory, as its campaign for the boycott has had effect: only one in five voters have mobilized.

"I hope that the men and women of the system understand this lesson and do what is necessary to listen to the demands of the people. Citizens want their own Constitution and institutions," said

, a lawyer for Human Rights and one of the visible faces from the opposition, in statements collected by Reuters.

From the 'Hirak' this new Constitution is seen as a "change of facade".

The leaders of the dissent insist that Algeria must go through a true political transition, hand in hand with a constituent process.

"Power must become aware of its defeat and reconsider its roadmap. The process of constituent democratic transition is the solution," the vice president of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights (LADDH),

, stressed on Twitter

.

Presidential term limit

The new fundamental law of the North African country does not change the political framework.

It enshrines a series of rights and freedoms on paper, although in reality it comes in the middle of a wave of repression against journalists and dissidents that has not been altered by the health emergency of the coronavirus.

Of course, it

- with Buteflika there were no restrictions - and gives more powers to Parliament and the judiciary.

As a novelty, the preamble includes for the first time a clear reference to the preservation of the environment and the consequences of climate change, an important mention since

.

The Army not only preserves its prerogatives, it increases them.

, while Article 30 establishes that "the Army defends the vital and strategic interests of the country."

In addition, article 91 authorizes the military institute to carry out peacekeeping missions outside the Algerian borders.

A change in military doctrine that opens the door, not without internal controversies, to a greater involvement in the resolution of the conflicts in Libya and the Sahel.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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