Head of Algeria constitutional body resigns as students protest
The chair of Algeria’s constitutional council, Tayeb Belaiz, quit his post on Tuesday, state news agency APS said, following calls for his resignation by prodemocracy protesters who say he is part of a governing elite they want abolished.
President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down on April 2 after weeks of mass protests for his 20-year rule to end.
But his departure has failed to placate many Algerians who want to topple the old guard and its associates.
Belaiz submitted his resignation to interim president Abdelkader Bensalah, APS reported, quoting a statement from the council.
Meanwhile, thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Algiers and in cities across the country calling for political change in the eighth week of mass protests.
Belaiz’s departure could herald that of other senior political figures who protesters want to see removed.
These include Bensalah, who was appointed interim president after Algeria’s army chief declared Bouteflika unfit for office and said the military would back a transition period leading to a presidential election on July 4.
But protesters want radical change that will introduce sweeping political reforms in Algeria, an Opec oil producer and major supplier of natural gas to Europe.
No person has emerged as a possible contender the country.
Protesters have identified figures such as lawyer and activist Mustapha Bouchachi as their leaders. But it was still not clear what role he could play in politics.
In Algiers, thousands of students streamed to the city centre on Tuesday calling for the resignation of Bensalah, witnesses said.
Shouting “No to Bensalah”, the students waved Algerian flags as hundreds of riot police stood by. The protests, which began on February 22, have been largely peaceful. Thousands of students marched in other cities too, such as Bouira, Boumerdes and Tizi Ouzou, according to witnesses.
Protesters want the removal of an elite that has governed Algeria since independence from France in 1962 and the prosecution of people they see as corrupt. to lead