Event Summary
On 15 March 2026, the Algerian Parliament meeting in congress adopted 12 amendments to the 2020 Constitution, presented by the authorities as technical adjustments intended to improve institutional coherence and the efficiency of the functioning of the state. According to official explanations, these amendments concern, inter alia, the presidential function, the organization of Parliament, the Supreme Council of the Judiciary and the National Independent Electoral Authority. According to our sources, civil society was not consulted as part of this process. Several provisions are particularly sensitive for the enabling environment for civil society: changes in the composition of the Supreme Council of the Judiciary, appointments to certain judicial offices by presidential decree after consultation only, and transfer of the material and logistical preparation of the elections to the administration. Although the government presents these changes as neutral and technical, independent observers consider that they further strengthen the presidentialization of the regime, reduce institutional autonomy and limit checks and balances, which can have a lasting negative impact on civic space and the ability of civil society to act within a pluralistic institutional framework. For civil society, the issue is therefore not merely the vote itself, but the manner in which these new provisions will be used in the future to impose tighter controls on the institutions intended to act as a counterbalance or oversight body.