Protests in Algeria against president’s bid for a fifth term

DPA,03RD MARCH, 2019 - University students on Sunday staged protests in several parts of Algeria as opposition mounts against ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid to seek a fifth term in office.

The 82-year-old was set to officially register his candidacy later Sunday.

In the capital,algiers, hundreds of students gathered Sunday inside the city’s university and chanted slogans against Bouteflika’s re-election plan, witnesses said.

Police prevented the protesters from leaving the campus.however, some students were able to breach the security cordon and march to the nearby offices of the Constitutional Council, the agency in charge of handling the papers of potential contenders for next month’s presidential election, witnesses added.

The protesters demanded that the council not accept the candidacy documents Bouteflika is expected to submit later Sunday, the last day for registration.

Security forces have blocked access to the council, according to witnesses.

Police personnel have been stationed at focal points for protesters and around state institutions in Algiers since early Sunday.

Elsewhere in Algeria, university students staged a massive rally against Bouteflika’s bid in the eastern province of Batna,algerian online newspaper Elkhabar reported.

The protesters marched from their campus to the provincial headquarters chanting “No to a fifth term,” according to the report.

Security forces monitored the march but did not intervene.