the constitutional process that had made possible the resignation of the President of the Republic and the recent suspension of elections and they also wanted more information on the legal requirements for the registration of political parties and the grounds on which requests for registration could be rejected. They also requested clarification of the legal basis for dissolving certain political parties, such as the Islamic Salvation Front, and other associations during the current emergency. They asked whether that action could be reconciled with article 25 of the Covenant and whether the Constitutional Council had ever examined the constitutionality of the electoral law. 276. Regarding article 27 of the Covenant, members of the Committee wished to receive additional information on the situation of ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities in Algeria and requested clarification of the statement in the report that the Algerian people was characterized by homogeneity. In that regard, further information was sought on the Berbers and on any measures taken to foster and preserve their culture and language, 277. In his reply, the representative of the State party explained that a state of siege had been declared on 4 June 1991 for a period of four months following civil disturbances that had lasted for more than a week, and which had created a situation of public danger posing a threat to the operation of the Government. As a result of the disturbances, 55 deaths had been reported, including members of the police and the armed forces. In accordance with article 4 of the Covenant, the Secretary-General had been notified of the Government's action on 19 June 1991. The state of siege had been lifted on 29 September 1991, before the end of the four-month period. The legal basis for the declaration of the state of siege was article 86 of the Constitution. The state of siege had entailed derogations from article 9, paragraph 3; article 12, paragraph 1; article 17; article 19, paragraph 2; and article 21 of the Covenant. All constitutional provisions as well as articles 4 and 5 of the Covenant had been respected. Five detention centres had been established and a total of 1,000 people had been held in those centres. All detainees had been released when the state of siege was lifted, except those convicted of criminal offences. 278. A state of emergency had again been declared on 9 February 1992 for a duration of 12 months. As a result of the events that had led to the declaration of the state of emergency, 99 deaths had been reported as of 19 March 1992, including 23 deaths among members of the police and the armed forces. The state of emergency could be lifted before the end of that period if the situation stabilized. The Secretary-General had been notified on 13 February 1992 of derogations from article 9, paragraph 3; article 12, paragraph 1; article 17 and article 21 of the Covenant, Six security centres had been established, where a total of 8,800 detainees were being held. So far, 2,500 of the detainees had been tried and 1,420 convicted. Guidelines concerning respect for human rights had been issued to the personnel of the centres. Although medical controls were lacking at the places of detention, the situation was improving and would be helped further by the imminent release of many internees. Family visits had been allowed and a number of humanitarian organizations had visited the centres. 279. Turning to the electoral process, the representative of the State party explained that the dissolution of the National People's Assembly and the -64-