Thousands demand quick change after Bouteflika concessions

Thousands of Algerian demonstrate in the center of the capital Algiers on March 12, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

Thousands protested across Algeria on Tuesday, demanding immediate political changes a day after ailing President Abelaziz Bouteflika abandoned his bid for a fifth term in power but stopped short of stepping down.

Huge crowds gathered in several cities and Ennahar TV reported workers began a strike that paralyzed operations at the Mediterranean port at Bajaia.

Bouteflika, 82, bowed to weeks of mass demonstrations against his 20-year rule on Monday (March 11) and promised a transition to a new leadership. But he postponed elections scheduled for April, meaning he will likely remain in power for some time.

Veteran Algerian diplomat Lakhdar Brahimi and protest groups will join a conference planning Algeria's future, government and political sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and U.N. special envoy, is expected to chair the conference that will oversee the transition, draft a new constitution and set the date for elections, a government source said.

Crowds who came back onto the streets on Tuesday demanded quicker action.

Algerians have grown tired of the ailing leader and other veterans of the 1954-1962 war of independence against France who have dominated a country with high unemployment, poor services and rampant corruption despite its oil and gas.

More than a quarter of Algerians under 30 are unemployed.

Algeria's deputy prime minister said Bouteflika's decision was the most important turning point in since independence from France in 1962, Annahar TV reported.

(Source: Reuters)


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