Algeria Sets Date for Elections as Anti-Gov’t Protesters Keep Up Pressure

By Staff, Agencies

Algeria will hold presidential elections on July 4, the presidency said Wednesday, as an interim leader took the reins after longtime ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in the face of mass protests.

Interim president Abdelkader Bensalah signed a decree "for the presidential election set for 4 July 2019", the official APS news agency reported.

Bensalah took the step on Tuesday after assuming office, according to the report.

Sporadic demonstrations calling for regime change escalated in mid-February when Bouteflika initially announced he would seek a fifth term as president.

The 82-year-old, who has rarely appeared in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, attempted in to quell growing protests by promising in early March that he would not serve a full term if re-elected.

"I listened and heard the cry from the hearts of protesters and in particular the thousands of young people who questioned me about the future of our homeland," Bouteflika vowed, in a letter read aloud on state TV. Several weeks later, his office said he would resign before his mandate expires on April 28.

The moves failed to assuage public ire, with protests eventually leading to Bouteflika losing the military's support, which spelled the definitive end of his 20-year rule.

Bouteflika officially submitted his resignation on April 2 after losing the military's support, and protesters have since urged that regime insiders be excluded from the political transition.

A week after their long-time leader stepped down, Algerians continued to demonstrate against the ruling elite Wednesday despite Bensalah's pledge to hold "transparent" elections.

The army weighed in with assurances of its own, vowing to guarantee "transparency and integrity" during the transition. But it also warned against attempts to "destabilize" the country.

In the past weeks, protesters have said they were calling not just for the end of a specific government but an end to a particular type of rule. The protest organizers are calling for a new transitional framework that is committed to deep reforms.

Chants of "Go away Bensalah!" and "A free Algeria!" rang out from early morning from thousands of demonstrators gathered under police surveillance in the capital's May 1 Square and near the Grand Post Office, epicenters of anti-regime rallies over the past seven weeks.

All eyes are now focused on the turnout on the streets on Friday, the traditional day of protests in Algeria, and whether the authorities will adopt a tougher line and step up security measures.