The president of Algeria resigned Tuesday night under pressure from the army following weeks of mass protests, closing out the reign of North Africa’s longest-serving leader but not ending a political impasse in a country where the street is demanding revolutionary change.
The state news agency said that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is ailing and paralyzed and has not spoken to his countrymen in seven years, had submitted his resignation.
His departure followed quickly after a statement from the chief of staff of Algeria’s army, the traditional arbiter of political life in the country, calling for an “immediate” declaration from the constitutional council that Bouteflika was unfit for office.
Bouteflika, who was president for 20 years, had sought to prolong his rule, pushed by family members and others in Algeria’s ruling elite who sought “the preservation of their narrow personal interests,” the army chief of staff, Gen. Ahmed Gaid Salah, said Tuesday night.
The general’s declaration was enough to force Bouteflika out. Only a day earlier, the president had said he would resign before the end of his term, April 28, but that was not quick enough for either the army or the protesters.
“My intention … is to contribute to calming down the souls and minds of the citizens so that they can collectively take Algeria to the better future they aspire to,” Bouteflika said in the letter to the president of the Constitutional Council.
“I have made this decision to avoid and prevent the arguments which distort, unfortunately, the current situation, and avoid its turning into serious skirmishes, to ensure the protection of persons and property,” he added.
The announcement prompted celebrations in Algeria’s capital, Algiers, with hundreds of people singing songs and waving flags in front of the city’s central post office.
Source: Agencies
