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Algeria: Temporary collective leadership to take over FLN

November 26, 2018 at 2:13 am

Former Algerian secretary-General, Jamal Ould Abbas [Observ’Algérie/Twitter]

On Sunday, a temporary collective leadership of Algeria’s ruling party, National Liberation Front (FLN), was assigned to fill the vacancy left by Secretary-General, Jamal Ould Abbas, who resigned unexpectedly days ago.

The decision came during a meeting held by the new leadership at the headquarters of the party in Algiers, ending a vacancy which lasted more than a week in the largest political formation in Algeria, according to Anadolu Agency’s correspondent.

The newly appointed leadership includes Mouad Bouchareb, Speaker of the People’s National Assembly (First Chamber of Parliament), as its coordinator, in addition to three male leaders, namely Mahmud Qamama, Said Lakhdari, and Mustafa Karim Rahiel, as well as three female leaders  who are respectively Laila Tayeb, Saida Bounab, and Samira Boras Karakoush.

The resigning Secretary-General Jamal Ould Abbas, along with his executive office, were temporarily replaced until new leadership is elected in a still undefined date.

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On November 14, Algeria Press Service (APS) attributed the news about Ould Abbas’s resignation to an official source, stating that the former Secretary-General’s sudden health crisis is the main reason behind his withdrawal.

According to the same source, the speaker of the People’s National Assembly was assigned to replace Ould Abbas until the party’ bodies can elect a new Secretary-General.

This sudden change came at a sensitive time for the FLN with the start of the countdown to Algeria’s presidential election, expected in April or May 2019.

It is not known whether the current Algerian president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 81, will run for a fifth term or another candidate may be elected to compete for office.

Some parties are calling for Bouteflika to be re-elected while others are asking him to withdraw due to his poor health condition.

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