Constitutional Court Review of Presidential Elections in Algeria: Between the Requirements of Order No. 21-01 and the Aspirations of Constitutional Reform

Abstract

Elections are the only legal means through which peoples can choose those who govern them. They constitute the optimal mechanism adopted by any democratic system to confer legitimacy upon authority. Through elections, the principle of popular sovereignty is realized, but only through the establishment of an integrated electoral system that guarantees the conduct of all stages of the electoral process within a framework of transparency and integrity, by activating various oversight mechanisms and procedures.

In this context, the Algerian legislator has sought to establish oversight mechanisms and instruments to ensure that elections are conducted freely and fairly and to provide an environment characterized by transparency and impartiality. These efforts to improve and modernize such mechanisms continue in order to ensure that elections reflect genuine democracy.

Constitutional review of elections is of paramount importance in achieving the objectives established by national constitutions and laws. In the field of presidential elections, the constitutional framers of 2020 entrusted the Constitutional Court with oversight functions, while Order No. 21-01[^1] regulated certain aspects of these functions by granting the Court exclusive jurisdiction over most electoral disputes relating to this electoral process.