12:25 GMT 19th May 2011
Unrest broke out in January with strikes, marches and rioting echoing protests elsewhere in the Arab world.
Under pressure to amend the constitution and limit presidential terms, the 74-year-old leader lifted the country's state of emergency in February, after 19 years.
Algerians gathered around TV screens to watch the president. He said, 'To crown the institutional edifice with the aim of strengthening democracy, it is important to introduce the necessary amendments to the constitution.'
In addition, the electoral law would be 'revised in depth', with the participation of 'the political parties, whether present [in parEament] or not'.
A new information law would be introduced to replace existing legislation under which journalists have been jailed after writing articles critical of the president.
The new law would include 'regulations for responsible blogging', the president, who has been in power for 12 years, said.
The current constitution was adopted in 1996 after Algeria's civil war.
Political analyst Mohamed Lagab said the reforms would help solve the current crisis but pointed out that there was no deadline for them.
no comments
