Fresh protests in Algeria demand end to long-serving president’s rule

ALGIERS: Several protests were held on Saturday in Algeria to demand that long-serving President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step down.

On Monday, the 82-year-old ailing leader bowed to two weeks of massive street rallies and dropped his bid for a fifth term in office. But he also announced an unspecified transitional period — a step seen by protesters as an attempt to prolong his rule.

Hundreds of people marched on Saturday in the eastern province of Tizi Ouzou, protesting Bouteflika’s recent decisions, including an indefinite delay of presidential polls that were set for April 18.

A similar rally was held in the town of Darguina, north-east of the capital, Algiers, independent newspaper Elkhabar reported online.

The protesters chanted slogans demanding “a radical change of the regime,” according to the report.

Dozens of workers meanwhile gathered outside the headquarters of Algeria’s main trade union, demanding the removal of its head after he had voiced backing for Bouteflika, according to witnesses.

Saturday’s protests come a day after tens of thousands of people took to the streets of the Algerian capital in what was believed to be the biggest antibouteflika demonstration in memory.

The leader of the opposition Workers’ Party, Louisa Hanoun, hailed Friday’s large protests.

“Our country has not seen such demonstrations since the declaration of independence (from France in 1962),” she said at press conference in Algiers on Saturday.

Hanoun called on Bouteflika to scrap his recent decisions and respond to “people’s aspirations.”

Bouteflika has been in power since 1999. His current tenure ends on April 28. He suffered a stroke in 2013 and has since been rarely seen in public.