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Bloomberg
Fresh calls for protests and strikes rippled through Algeria on Monday, with some warning that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s determination to run for a fifth term would set the nation ablaze even as he vowed to stand down within a year.
The outburst of anger came almost immediately after Bouteflika’s campaign filed his official nomination papers for the April 18 election and the 82-year-old president pledged to amend the constitution if re-elected and announce a fresh ballot. He also promised a fairer distribution of wealth in the Opec member that has done little over the decades to diversify its energy-dependent economy or create enough jobs for a youthful and increasingly frustrated population.
“I have listened and heard the screaming hearts of the protesters and in particular the thousands of youths who alerted me about the future of our nation,†Bouteflika said in a written statement, vowing to meet “the fundamental demand of the people, which means changing the system. Thousands of protesters, many of them younger Algerians, have taken to the streets over the past week to demand that the 82-year-old leader, who’s been in power since 1999, step aside. Hours after the announcement, protesters took to the streets in capital Algiers, and Algerian media reported demonstrations elsewhere in the country.
Clinging On
Police used water cannon earlier in the afternoon to disperse protesters who converged on the Constitutional Council in Algiers, where candidates must register.
After days of conflicting rumors and speculation that he may bow out, it had become increasingly clear as the midnight deadline for electoral registration loomed that Bouteflika would try to stay.
One by one over the past 24 hours, key opposition parties and prominent potential challengers, including Ali Benflis, a former prime minister who took part in the recent protests, pulled out of the race. At least eight candidates have registered to run against Bouteflika, but they are not expected to present any real challenge.
Credited with restoring calm after a decade-long civil war, Bouteflika has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013 and is currently believed to be in Geneva for medical treatment. Bouteflika’s statement was released on state media shortly after his campaign manager, Abdelghani Zalene, arrived at the Council to formally submit the electoral paperwork on his behalf.
The protests have largely been peaceful, demanding that Bouteflika end his rule at four terms and calling for a new government that can create jobs and improve the standard of living in the North African country. They’ve drawn a wide range of people, including business leaders.
But leaders within “le pouvoir,†a loosely defined ruling coalition including the military, appear unable to agree on a replacement. Some have described Bouteflika’s proposal as a peaceful way out of the political crisis. It also helps to buy time for a regime struggling to find its way forward.
This “will ensure a soft exit out of this crisis”, Mohamed Kissari, a lawmaker from the ruling FLN party, told the private Echourouk TV.
Algerian officials have been imploring people for days not to risk triggering instability in the North African country, which was barely touched by Arab Spring protests that toppled
autocratic rulers around the
region in 2011.