Why I am a candidate in the upcoming legislative elections?
 

• First: I am not satisfied with the current elected representative for the following reasons:
1. No established channel of communication (such as email, web site or phone   number) available for the Algerian community to convey problems and issues they are facing.
2. No official or private visit, meeting, or contact with the Algerian communities by the current elected representative.
3. No issue has yet to be resolved, whether at the individual or community level. The current elected representative seems to be absent (i.e. no official or personal visit at the Algerian Embassy or an Algerian association).
4. No meetings held at the embassy level or with the community with the current elected representative.
5. None of the problems brought by the Algerian community residing in the US were presented to the government by the current representative. 
   
   
• Second:  Many Algerians residing in United States, Canada, and other countries of zone 6 encouraged me and offered their support for my candidacy.

• Third: I pledge to be the best candidate for all Algerians residing in zone 6 (the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Latin America, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand). I promise to fight for your concerns and interests.

• Fourth: I guarantee to be different and promise to be accessible by e-mail, web site, and eventually through a toll free phone number.

• Fifth:  You will find ample details about my proposed program at my web site www.MohamedGahcheWorkingForYou.com.  This program outlines a number of points and issues that the Algerian community is facing and which I pledge to act on them if elected. The following is a brief summary:

I.  Develop a local cell to act as an interface between the Algerian community abroad and the Algerian authorities to resolve all administrative issues faced by Algerians resident abroad

This cell will be used as an interface between the community and the Consulates on the one hand and between the community and the ministries on the other. It will be used to ask and resolve administrative problems faced by the community among which:

1. Military Service:

Action Plan

• Work with Algerian Embassies and the Defense Ministry to solve the problem of the Military Service and to expose them to the issues faced by the community in order to obtain waivers.
• Review the individual situation of each Algerian residing in the United States, Canada, and all countries in zone 6.
• Explain to the Algerian authorities of the possibility of people losing their job and their residency card for an absence of long duration.
• Raise the issue of Algerians residing in countries of zone 6 and who cannot visit Algeria because of their situation with respect to the Military Service.
• Raise the issue of Algerian residing in the countries of zone 6 which cannot carry out their Military Service because nobody can provide for their families during their absence.
• Raise the question concerning the obligations of the Military Service for people who never lived in Algeria.
• Ensure a constant channel of communication between members of the community and the military office of the embassy for a resolution of the problems related to the Military Service. 

2. Divorce Procedures for Algerian Woman:

Action Plan

• Assist Algerian women divorced with their concerns and preoccupations.
• Algerian Embassies do not recognize a divorce presented by Algerian women even if the divorce is legal and pronounced by a legitimate court in the United States or Canada.
• However, the ex-husband can marry again and start a new life whereas the ex-wife is still considered as married and cannot legally remarry.
• The recurring question is “why the Algerian government recognizes the Canadian and US marriages and rejects the divorce of these same countries?”

3.  Paternal Authorization:

Action Plan

• Resolve the problem of the paternal authorization requested from the Algerian wife when she travels with her children to Algeria.
• Divorced woman cannot travel with her children to Algeria. The Algerian law requires from her a paternal authorization, in spite of the difficulties and sometimes impossibility for the divorced women to obtain such authorization.
• The question to present is “why require this authorization for Algerian residing abroad?”

4.  Cost of the Algerian Passport:

Action Plan

• Work with the embassy of Algeria and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to reduce the cost of the Algerian passport. In Algeria for example the price of the passport is equivalent to $15.00 while the cost for countries of zone 6 it is equivalent to $60.00 (an important difference).

5. Retirement of Algerians:

Action Plan

• There is no prior legal agreement between the social services in US/Canada and Algeria that would authorize Algerian retirees to receive their pension in Algeria.
• A retired Algerian who lives in Algeria is forced to transfer his pension to Tunisia or Morocco.

6. Creation of a Legal Assistance Service in the United States and Canada and possibly in other countries of zone 6:

Action Plan

• Study with the embassy and the consular service the possibility of creating a legal service at the consulate to defend and advise the rights of Algerian residing in zone 6.

7. In Case of Death:

Action Plan

• Work with Algerian Embassies, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Foreigner Affairs to create a mechanism or an account for Algerians who pass away in the United States or Canada in order to facilitate body repatriation.
• Assist families and facilitate the administrative procedures for the transfer of the body in Algeria.

II.      Develop a favorable legislation for the businessmen and contractors to invest in various sectors of the national economy

1.  Algerian Bank or a Banking Division:

• Facilitate the access to information and the financial transparency.
• Facilitate banking transactions. Example: transfer of money to buy goods, a house, a parcel of land etc. in Algeria.
• Encourage investments and explain the investment regulations in Algeria.

Action Plan

• Work with the Algerian Embassy, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry for Finances, and the Central Bank in order to create an Algerian-American bank or a banking division to facilitate banking transactions of the Algerian community similar to other countries like Tunisia and Egypt for their nationals resident abroad.
• Resolve this problem with the American, Canadian governments and the rest of countries of zone 6. 

2. Encourage Algerian Business:

Action Plan

• Encourage and publicize with the assistance of Algerian associations, Algerian contractors and businesses in the United States and Canada and the rest of countries of zone 6.
• Promote the use of products and services provided by Algerians.
• Favor a person-to-person publicity.

3. Establish flights between North America and Algeria: Stopover at the United   States:

• Flights between North America and Algeria provide a tremendous benefit to the Algerian community including:
• Provide a better communication enters Algeria and North America and consequently an improvement of the relations.
• Facilitate trips to Algeria.
• Offer more affordable prices for transportation.
• Reduce trips’ duration considerably.

Action Plan

•  Work with the embassy and the ministry of transportation to allow the opening of a stopover at the United States.

III.    Develop the Algerian intellectual resources abroad and encourage them to take part in the social, political, and economic activities of the country

1. Create a cell of communication between Algerian scientists inside and outside of the country:

• Create summer schools with the participation of Algerian teachers residing abroad for conferences on various topics related to new technologies and scientific subjects focusing particularly on Algeria.
• Promote and support the participation of Algerian scientists and thinkers inside and outside the country in the development of the Algerian businesses.
• Work with the embassy, all the ministries in Algeria, and Algerian residing in countries of zone 6 with broad expertise and competency in all fields to support their participation in the development of Algeria.
• Encourage Algerian experts of zone 6 to take part in the development of Algeria.
• Facilitate the return of Algerian experts to Algeria by helping them to reintegrate and particularly provide them the necessary support for housing and finding a job.

Action Plan

• Organize conferences with the help of Algerian associations, the embassy, or in Algeria with the aim of making these experts known.

IV.    Creation of an Algerian Cultural Association:

This association will have the responsibility of promoting the Algerian culture in the host country, through the use of multimedia, artistic fairs, sporting events, and competitions for the members of the community, especially Algerians of second generation.

1. General Consulate with a Cultural Center

• The current condition of the consular section cannot address the problems faced by the Algerian community in the US, Canada, or the rest of countries of zone 6. Alleviating this situation would require the following:

 Action Plan

• Work with the embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to open a General Consulate with an art centre in the United States as well as an art centre in Canada considering the increase of the Algerian population in these two countries.
• Given the limited means, the consular service of the Algerian embassy in Washington is not able anymore to effectively take in charge the problems faced by the Algerian community.

     The Goal of the Consulate General

• Investigate the possibility of accelerating the consular administrative procedures.
•  Investigate the means to better inform and of answer questions raised by the Algerian community in order to resolve their administrative problems.
• Create a database at the General Consulate and to send messages to Algerian residing within the countries of zone 6 to inform them for the need to renew their official papers before they expire. For example: Consular Card, Passport, Voting Card, etc.
• Remain in close contact with Algerians by mail and e-mail, and inform them of current and future innovations.

     The Goal of a Cultural Center

• Promote the Algerian culture.
• Work with the Algerian community and associations.
• Work with other foreign associations in the United States and Canada.
• Organize musical and cultural events with the aim of making the Algerian culture known.
• Organize local and international excursions for the children of the Algerian community.
• Gather resources and work with parents and experts to promote the Algerian culture with the children of the community.
• Encourage children who excel in school with prizes and awards. For example: Travel to Canada, France, and Algeria etc. and to encourage the children to take part and remain in touch with the Cultural Center.

2. Consular Representation: Permanent or Temporary:

Action Plan

• Work with the embassy and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
• Establish consular offices in the states where the Algerian community population is high.
• Facilitate the consular procedures to deliver the necessary administrative documents to the members of the Algerian community.
• Assist and work with local Algerian associations.
• Allow citizens to vote by mail without a need to send a proxy and without the need to travel to the nearest consulate.
• Open temporary consular offices, for example, open once by week.
• Allow the establishment of a periodic presence of a consular office in various cities where there is no consulate, to solve administrative problems faced by the Algerian community.

3. Creation of a DVD Library of Algerian films at the Algerian Cultural Center:

Action Plan

• With the assistance of the embassy, the ministry of information, and Algerian associations,  create a library for books, films and Algerian music.
• Preserve the Algerian culture.

4. Creation of a Web Site:

Action Plan

• Work with the embassy, the ministry of information to create a web site for the Algerian community concerning all fields related to the life in Algeria.
• Encourage the creation of newsletters.
• Facilitate the communication between the Algerian community abroad and Algeria and to reduce the cost and the access time.

5.  The Algerian Culture:

Action Plan

• Work with the embassy, the ministry of the cultural affairs, and Algerian associations in the United States and Canada to create cultural and educational activities concerning the Algerian culture.
• Teach courses of Arabic and Berber at the art centre.
• Create a library of Algerian books and expose Algerian authors and the Algerian culture.

V.      Develop a policy to assist emigrants in the host country and the reintegration with the country of origin

Action Plan

• Create, with the assistance of the embassy and Algerian associations, a mechanism to assist new Algerians who arrives at the United States, Canada and the rest of countries of zone 6.
• Develop a network of volunteers for the reception and insertion of new families arriving to study, train, or for immigration (Green Card).
• Develop a plan of assistance which facilitates the integration in the host country.
• Advise and help finding a job, housing, or school institution.

VI.    Develop an effective mean of communication between the representatives of the APN (National People's Assembly) and their constituents

Action Plan

• I pledge to inform about issues of significance to you discussed at the APN.
• I pledge to inform you of any action, law, or legislation adopted or modified by the APN and which concerns you.

VII. A Depute for each Country

Action Plan

• Given the increasing number of the Algerian population in US and Canada, I will work with the Algerian Embassies and the Ministry of Foreigner Affairs to have an elected deputy for each country

And Much More…