Algeria: Bouteflika’s Key Allies Back Army Plan to Oust Him

By Staff, Agencies

Algeria’s army appeared certain to secure the end of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s 20-year rule after winning over his key allies.

However, the managed exit plan was rejected by protesters demanding the overthrow of the entire political elite.

The shift by pillars of the regime Wednesday was a clear signal that the 82-year-old president, who has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, has little to no chance of staying in power for much longer in the North African country, an oil and gas producer.

The army’s powerful chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Ahmad Gaid Salah, told officers in a speech broadcast Tuesday that the solution to the crisis would be the departure of the president on health grounds.

Salah called on Algeria’s Constitutional Council to rule on whether Bouteflika was fit for office. Such a ruling would have to be ratified by a two-thirds majority of members in the two houses of Parliament.

In the heaviest blow to the ailing leader, the ruling FLN party said it backed the army’s bid to have the Constitutional Council declare him unfit for office.

“We announce our support for the initiative as a start to a constitutional plan that will allow us to protect our country from dangers,” the party said in a statement.

That move came after Algeria’s biggest union and a powerful party that is part of the ruling coalition announced they would back the military’s approach.

The army has been patiently waiting for the right moment to intervene.

Now that the generals have emptied Bouteflika’s inner circle, they are well-positioned to play their traditional role of kingmaker in any transition.

But the military will face resistance from the leaders of mass demonstrations fueled by anger over alleged corruption, nepotism and economic mismanagement who said the plan still did not go far enough.