Algerian president poised to quit this week, say private TV channels
Mass protests spur army chief of staff to urge constitutional council to declare Abdelaziz Bouteflika unfit to rule
Cairo — Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was quoted as saying on Monday he would step down before his fourth term officially expires on April 28, bowing to weeks of mass protests that had threatened to tip the Opec exporter into turmoil. Citing a statement from the presidency, the official APS news agency said the transitional period would begin with the departure of the ailing leader, who would take “important steps to ensure continuity in the functioning of state institutions” during those changes. The announcement comes as Bouteflika faces hundreds of thousands of demonstrators demanding he end his 20-year rule over the North African country. Protesters had been joined in recent weeks by unions and political parties. The tide turned against Bouteflika last week when his long-time ally, army chief of staff Ahmed Gaid Salah, said it was time to invoke a constitutional article that could see the 82-year-old declared unfit for office. “This looks like it was effectively the ou...
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