Algeria reinstates term limit, recognises Berber language

Algerian MPs have passed a package of reforms that include reinstating a limit on presidential terms and giving the Berber language official status. The language can now appear on official documents, although Arabic will remain the language of government. A two-term limit on the presidency was lifted in 2008 to allow Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run […]

Algerian MPs have passed a package of reforms that include reinstating a limit on presidential terms and giving the Berber language official status.
The language can now appear on official documents, although Arabic will remain the language of government.
A two-term limit on the presidency was lifted in 2008 to allow Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a third term.
The limit is part of a package of constitutional reforms that authorities say will strengthen democracy. Opposition leaders have dismissed the changes as superficial.
The Berber language – known locally as Amazigh – was recognised in 2002 as a national language, meaning it could be taught officially in schools in Berber-speaking regions.
The Berbers were the original inhabitants of North Africa before the seventh century Arab invasion, and they now make up 13 million of Algeria’s 39 million people.