Algeria’s ruling party names relatively young new leader amid protests

Algeria’s ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party, has elected Mohamed Djemai, a businessman, as its new leader, state television said on Tuesday, a month after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika quit in the face of mass protests, reports Reuters.

Bouteflika’s exit, however, has not quieted protesters, who are now demanding the dismantling of an entire ruling elite entrenched for decades, a shift towards more democracy and a crackdown on systemic corruption and cronyism.

The 50-year-old Djemai, whose business interests have included smartphones, is a relatively youthful figure atop the FLN, most of whose senior officials are in their 70s and have dominated Algeria since independence from France in 1962.

Djemai replaces Mouad Bouchareb, who like other associates of the ailing, 82-year-old Bouteflika stepped down when he did.

Until presidential elections on July 4, Algeria – a major oil and gas producer – will be run by Abdelkader Bensalah, head of the upper house of parliament, as caretaker president, though he has also faced demands to resign.

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The army remains the most powerful institution in Algeria, having swayed politics from the shadows for decades. It has so far patiently monitored the mostly peaceful protests that at times have swelled to hundreds of thousands of people.

Earlier on Tuesday, the army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaid Salah – who helped push out Bouteflika after having him declared unfit for office – said several big corruption cases would come to light in a crackdown on graft, private Ennahar TV reported.

A number of figures from the ruling elite including the finance minister, ex-prime minister and several oligarchs have come under investigation in recent weeks.

“The judiciary has been freed from all pressures,” Salah said in a speech at a base in the eastern city of Constantine. “The country will be cleansed of corruption and corrupt people.”

Salah spoke hours after former prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia, who was sacked as part of a cabinet reshuffle two days before Bouteflika resigned, appeared in court as part of a corruption investigation.

There was no immediate comment from Ouyahia or his lawyers. It is up to the court to decide whether there is enough evidence for him to face a formal charge. Ouyahia later left the court after being questioned by a prosecutor, state TV said.

“Put Ouyahia in prison,” read a banner held up as dozens of protesters gathered near the court in the capital Algiers.

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On Monday, Finance Minister Mohamed Loukal – a former central bank governor who only got the job from Bouteflika last month – appeared in court in relation to an investigation into suspected misuse of public funds, state TV reported.

Protesters have taken to the streets since February, calling first for the ouster of Bouteflika and now the dismantling of a secretive elite of ruling FLN party functionaries, oligarchs and security chiefs that underpinned his 20-year rule and has dominated Algeria since independence from France in 1962.

At least five tycoons, some close to Bouteflika, have been detained and accused of involvement in corruption scandals.