Algerian president steps down amid protests, army pressure

The current upper house president is Abdelkader Bensalah, a Bouteflika ally — and it’s unclear whether protesters will abandon their fight for an overhaul of the entire power structure.

An official in the president’s office told The Associated Press that Bouteflika had resigned, and the official APS news agency said in a full-page headline that Bouteflika had notified the constitutional Council of his decision.

The move came a day after Bouteflika’s office said he would leave by April 28, the official end of his fourth mandate — but only after “important” changes were made to ensure institutional continuity. That gave rise to fears that his entourage would do all to preserve the interests of those who profited from his time in office.

There was no word about what would happen to the presidential entourage, including younger brother Said Bouteflika, a top counsellor blamed by protesters for widespread corruption in the North African country with a high unemployment rate and drastic gap between the rich and poor.

Earlier Tuesday, military chief of staff Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah convened a meeting of the top military hierarchy. That made clear that the army chief’s call for Bouteflika to desist had the backing of the military — among the most important on the African continent.

In a communique, the Defence Ministry referred to Bouteflika’s entourage as a “gang” and said it had made “fraud, embezzlement and duplicity its vocation.”

Bouteflika has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke.

His resignation caps six weeks of peaceful marches by protesters who wanted not just Bouteflika but the entire system to make an exit.

As the protests escalated, Bouteflika announced two new governments and army chief Gaid Salah urged Bouteflika to submit to Article 102 of the Constitution, which would declare him unfit for office. Gaid Salah also called for the application of two more articles championed by protesters, notably Article 7, which stipulates that “the people are the source of power.”

Tensions had been mounting in recent days between the army chief and the president’s entourage — along with suspicions of a potential military coup.

The Defence Ministry statement Tuesday appeared to be a final warning, and the catalyst for Bouteflika’s resignation.

Bouteflika was an independence fighter during Algeria’s war against colonizer France in the 1950s and 1960s, and then went on to defend Third World interests at the height of the Cold War as Algeria’s foreign minister.

Bouteflika came to the presidency after Algeria’s darkest period, the 1990s Islamic insurgency that left around 200,000 people dead. After taking power in 1999, Bouteflika managed to bring back stability to a country devastated by killings and distrust.

The insurgency then linked up with al-Qaida and metastasized into a Sahara-wide extremist movement.

As president, however, age and illness took its toll, and corruption scandals dogged Bouteflika and associates.

Bouteflika also failed to create an economy that could offer enough jobs for Algeria’s growing youth population despite the nation’s vast oil and gas wealth.

In a country where secrecy surrounds the leadership, it has never been clear whether Bouteflika was fully in charge or whether the powerful army was pulling the strings.

___

Elaine Ganley reported from Paris. Thomas Adamson contributed from Paris.

Aomar Ouali And Elaine Ganley, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Algerian president steps down amid protests, army pressure

Our Community