Lakhdar Brahimi to chair a transitional conference on Algeria's political future

Algeria’s statesman Lakhdar Brahimi will chair a conference on the country’s political future, proposed by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a government source stated on Tuesday.

The source told Reuters that the conference would include representatives of the demonstrators as well as personalities who played a prominent role in the war of independence, which lasted from 1954 to 1962.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has announced the withdrawal of his candidacy for a fifth term, reported Algerian TV channel An-Nahar on Monday evening.

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The TV channel stated that President Bouteflika announced the postponement of presidential elections that have been previously scheduled for April 18, 2019.

Bouteflika returned home on Sunday evening after spending two weeks in a Swiss hospital “for routine medical checkups,” according to the Algerian presidency.

Bouteflika, 82, travelled to Geneva on February 24, two days after tens of thousands of Algerians took part in protests against his candidacy for a fifth term.