Algeria protests continue despite Bouteflika resignation

Thousands of Algerian protestors yesterday took to the streets for the seventh week running, despite the fact that President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his resignation earlier this week. Protestors are calling for the entire government to be changed and all of Bouteflika’s allies to leave.

An influx of demonstrators yesterday descended on city squares at the end of Friday prayers, with many carrying flags. Other demonstrators spent the night in Central Post Office Square in the capital Algiers. Some families were spotted near the square offering breakfast for those protesters who came from other cities in Algeria to join the protests.

This is the first Friday after the resignation of Bouteflika and the seventh since the beginning of the protests. Algerians are continuing to demonstrate to force the removal of all “regime remnants” and prevent close associates of Bouteflika from running the transitional phase.

Many people were calling for the dismissal of “the three Bs”, namely: the president of the Council of the Nation Abdelkader Bensalah, who is supposed to assume the position of president during the transitional phase; President of the Constitutional Council Tayeb Belaiz; and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.

The trio constitute the key figures in the structure Bouteflika has established, with the constitution granting them the right to assume leadership responsibilities during the transitional period.

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According to the constitution, Bensalah – who has been occupying the position of Chairman of the Council of the Nation for 16 years thanks to the support of Bouteflika – is supposed to replace the president for three months, during which presidential elections will be prepared.

Belaiz, who has been a minister for almost 16 years in a row, is heading the Constitutional Council, which is responsible for ensuring the integrity of elections, for the second time.

Bedoui, the prime minister who came to office on 11 March, was previously loyal to Bouteflika while serving as interior minister, and has been described by newspaper Al-Watan as “the mastermind behind electoral fraud and the enemy of freedom”.

Opponents to “the three Bs” believe that those loyal to Bouteflika should not run the transitional phase following the president’s departure.

On Thursday, the offices of the two chambers of parliament should have held a session, set by the constitution, to determine the interim president of the country. However, several days have elapsed since Bouteflika’s resignation and the date of this meeting has not yet been determined.

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