Algeria votes to revamp constitution despite low voter turnout
Algerians took to the polls on Sunday to vote in a referendum that has introduced presidential term limits and other changes to the constitution.
A major referendum on Algeria’s constitution passed Sunday, the national election commission said, making law presidential term limits and other political measures aimed at satisfying a massive street protest movement.
The National Independent Elections Authority said on Monday morning that the new constitution passed with 66.8% of the vote. But with just 23.7% of eligible voters showing up to the polls on Sunday, analysts say the historically low voter turnout could undermine the legitimacy of the revised constitution.
Changes to the constitution include limiting presidents to just two terms in office, the creation of an anti-corruption body and a 30-day limit on state-of-emergency decrees.
The voting took place on Nov. 1, a day that commemorates the start of Algeria’s 1954-1962 war for independence from France. Seizing on the timing, one campaign slogan was “November 1954: Liberation. November 2020: Change.”
