Alger, Algeria | AFP | Algeria will head to the polls in July, the presidency announced Wednesday, as demonstrators kept up protests against the ruling elite following veteran leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s resignation. Presidential elections will be held on July 4, interim leader Abdelkader Bensalah’s office said, just hours after he pledged …
Read More »Bouteflika ally named Algeria’s first new president in 20 years
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algerian lawmakers appointed a regime stalwart as interim president Tuesday, dismaying protesters seeking sweeping change after the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika who ruled the country for two decades. The selection of upper house speaker Abdelkader Bensalah as Algeria’s first new president in 20 years followed constitutional …
Read More »Algerians rally for Bouteflika allies to quit too
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algerians were gathering Friday for the first mass protests since the resignation of ailing president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in a key test of whether the momentum for reform can be maintained. Activists took to social media calling for “joyful demonstrations” to “peacefully bring down a dictatorial regime”. …
Read More »Algerians cheer end of Bouteflika era but want broader change
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Flag-waving Algerians celebrated the resignation of ailing leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika after two decades in power, but vowed to keep protesting to demand sweeping change to the country’s whole political system. The 82-year-old president ceded power in the face of massive street demonstrations that have shaken the …
Read More »Algeria: from mass protests to Bouteflika resignation
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday, nearly six weeks after the start of unprecedented protests sparked by his bid for a fifth term. His resignation, announced by state television, came shortly after the army demanded the start of impeachment against him. Here is a …
Read More »Loyalist calls for president to quit fail to end Algeria protests
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Thousands of Algerians gathered for new anti-government protests in the capital on Friday despite moves by a succession of veteran loyalists to abandon ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Demonstrations were expected to take place across the North African country, where protests broke out more than a month …
Read More »General Gaid Salah: key figure of power in Algeria
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, who has called for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s departure, has until now been a faithful supporter of the leader who made him one of Algeria’s most powerful men. Born in 1940 in the Batna region, 300 kilometres (186 miles) southeast of Algiers, …
Read More »Bouteflika party says it backs Algeria protests
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | The party of ailing Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said Wednesday it supports protesters’ calls for change while backing his call for dialogue to overcome the country’s political crisis. The National Liberation Front (FLN)’s statement comes after cracks emerged within two other pillars of Bouteflika’s regime, key …
Read More »Algeria premier urges calm ahead of key anti-Bouteflika demos
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s new prime minister sought to calm tensions Thursday ahead of planned demonstrations that could be decisive for the protest movement calling for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down. Noureddine Bedoui was speaking ahead of the first round of Friday rallies since Bouteflika’s surprise announcement earlier this week that he …
Read More »Algerian protesters denounce Bouteflika ‘tricks’
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Thousands of protesters returned to Algeria’s streets Tuesday after jubilation over President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s vow not to seek re-election gave way to fears of a plot to prolong his two-decade rule. In a surprise announcement Monday, the ailing 82-year-old said he would not stand for a …
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