CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE 249. In contrast, the parliament does not dispose of any action in respect of the President. His power of control is limited only by the government, which he hears, questions and interpellates with little likelihood of censure, considering the mechanisms for questioning the accountability of the government (a twothirds majority vote on proposals signed by at least one out of every seven deputies, and the vote only being possible three days after the tabling of a vote of no confidence). 250. The CRM notes that there is effective interference in legislative and executive powers, with the undesirable consequence of clouding the responsibilities of the elected members of the parliament and of the President in relation to the people. This highlights the relevance of the CSAR‟s recommendation to make a clear choice between a presidential and a parliamentary regime. Given local political tradition, Algeria‟s transitional context, as well as the extent of the challenges to be faced by its people, opting for a clearly defined presidential regime would be useful in that it would provide the head of state with the means to accomplish the mandate entrusted to him by the people in terms of his election by universal suffrage. 251. In effect, the President, although elected by the whole nation, is not able to impose his political programme on the institutions in place unless there is both a presidential and parliamentary majority. When the prime minister is from a different political party, probable institutional conflicts could have deleterious effects on the governance of the state. In any event, it is up to the sovereign Algerian people alone to settle this question. 252. For this reason, institutional reform – aimed at, among other things, clarifying the roles of the executive, “liberating national representation”, strengthening the capacity of the parliament and the APN, as well as re-evaluating the status of national elected representatives – would seem to be justified. Such reform could also give the National Council a new orientation, while amending the procedure for adopting the legislation of this chamber. iii. Recommendations 253. Within the context of projected constitutional reform in the country, the APR Panel would like to recommend that Algeria: 1. Strengthen the constitutional guarantees in respect of the separation and balance of powers by: opting for a political regime that reduces the potential for institutional conflict and clarifies the political accountability of organs of the state (the executive and the parliament) vis-à-vis the sovereign people; formally giving the President, who is elected by the nation as a whole, the constitutional power to define and control the implementation of state policy for which he is directly accountable to the people and 88