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Algeria's Bouteflika confirms to stay president after term ends
[PULSE.NG] Algerian President Abdelaziz  Bouteflika... 10th president-for-life of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth.... on Monday confirmed he will stay in power beyond his term expiring next month, despite tens of thousands of people demonstrating against his rule. Bouteflika announced on March 11 he was withdrawing from his bid for a fifth term, initially sparking elation among protesters before they realised he would be remain in office beyond his term. The ailing 82-year-old also scrapped the election set for April 18 and announced he was rolling out reforms through a "national conference". Rarely seen in public since a 2013 stroke, Bouteflika issued a statement on Monday which confirmed his new plan would see him stay in power for months beyond the expiry of his term on April 28. "(I hope) that Algeria experiences, in the near future, a harmonious transition and assists handing over the reins to a new generation," he said in the statement carried by state media. "This is the ultimate goal that I have committed to making a reality before the end of my presidential mandate, at your side and at your service," added Bouteflika, who has ruled Algeria for 20 years. While Bouteflika has given no timetable for his national conference, he said the shake-up of Algeria's "political, economic and social systems" would start "in the very near future". A constitutional review would be put before a referendum, he said, which would be "a prelude to a new electoral process that will see the election of a new president." Posted by: Fred 2019-03-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=536798 |