Like fall leaves, constitutions wither and die with predictable regularity, notes Nosreddine Qassem The Algerian government intends to amend the constitution so as to allow President to run for a third term. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyehia, who announced the move, had ruled it out in the past. Now he has joined ranks with the National Liberation Front (FLN), which has been calling for a third presidential term for the past three years. Bouteflika himself is not saying much about the whole thing. But back in 1999, when he was first elected president, he spoke about the need for amending the constitution, saying that the existing constitution lacks clarity on some points, including the separation of power and the nature of the political system. Bouteflika is known to favour a strong presidential system with extensive powers for the president. The current constitution allows for a maximum of two terms for the president, and Bouteflika will need Article 74 of the constitution amended before April 2009 to be able to run for office once more. The FLN has made it clear that it will back a constitutional amendment allowing the president to stay in office for life. Now the matter of Bouteflika's third term is taking centre stage in Algeria. The nature of the constitutional amendment, which used to focus on how best to reform the political system, has been reduced to keeping the president in office. Algeria is no stranger to constitutional amendments. Actually, every president who took power in the past has either introduced a new constitution or amended the existing one -- Ben Bella in 1963, Boumediene in 1978, Bendjedid in 1989, and Zeroual in 1996. With the presidential elections due in April 2009, the debate over constitutional amendments has taken on renewed urgency. If the amendments are passed, then the outcome of the next elections is hardly in doubt, as the opposition bitterly pointed out. The ruling coalition, made up of the National Democratic Rally (NDR), the FLN, and the Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), wants Bouteflika to stay in power. The FLN and NDR are quite vocal about the need for the amendment. The Islamist-leaning MSP is more restrained in its public statements, no doubt aware that its supporters may not be all in favour of such a move. The MSP has moved up the time of its Shura Council body, from December to October, to allow its members to decide on the matter. As usual, the Algerian opposition is split on what comes next. Some opposition groups are against the constitutional amendment but want to participate in the elections. Others are against the amendment and for a boycott of the elections. The Algerian National Front, a small party that climbed to fourth place in the last legislative elections, wants to take part in the elections. Its leader, Moussa Touati, says that he is not opposed to the amendment or to Bouteflika running for a third term, but wants the matter put to a public vote rather than settled in parliament. Those in favour of boycotting the elections include Hocine Ait Ahmed's Front of Socialist Forces, Abdullah Djaballah's Islamist-leaning Movement for National Reform, and the Rally for Culture and Democracy. The latter is a tribal party that initially supported Bouteflika then pulled out of the government after the bloody disturbances in the Kabylie region. Their position is that the elections would be marred by fraud, even if international observers are called in. Louise Hanoune, leader of the Workers' Party, once a strong opponent of the government, is acting with restraint. She says that she wouldn't oppose the constitutional amendment allowing the president to run for a third term, but doesn't believe that the move is democratic. Her remarks suggest that although she is not thrilled by the prospect of a third Bouteflika term, she will keep her options open for now. Hanoune is critical of the considerable increase in the pay of parliamentarians, and says that the pay rise is a "bribe" designed to entice the parliament to vote for the amendment. It is unclear yet whether the amendment would give the president new powers, or just the chance to run for office indefinitely.
