Algerians stage massive anti-regime protests in capital

ALGIERS

Hundreds of thousands of Algerians on Friday staged demonstrations -- in capital Algiers and in other parts of the country -- to demand the departure of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and his regime.

Friday’s demonstrations come three days after army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah called for the activation of a constitutional article with the aim of having the 82-year-old Bouteflika deemed unfit for office.

In televised remarks broadcast Tuesday, Salah cited Article 102 of Algeria’s national charter, which states that the parliament speaker should assume executive authority in the event of the president’s incapacitation.

One banner seen in Algiers on Friday read, “After Article 102, we will be rid of them” -- an apparent reference to the president and members of his regime.

In a related development, the Algerian Bar Association on Friday called for the setting up of a “presidential council” -- drawn up from “prominent figures accepted by the people” -- to lead a transitional phase until presidential elections are held.

The Bar Association also called for suspending the constitution, which, it said in a statement, “hinders the holding of credible presidential polls".

Last week, after one month of protests against Bouteflika’s intention to run for a fifth term in office, the aging leader abruptly postponed elections -- originally slated for April 18 -- and formally announced his withdrawal from the race.

Algerians, however, have continued to demonstrate against the president, who they accuse of unconstitutionally extending his fourth term.

In February, Algeria’s ruling National Liberation Front nominated Bouteflika, who has ruled Algeria since 1999, to run for a fifth presidential term.

Opposition figures, for their part, had repeatedly urged the elderly leader -- who in 2013 was treated for a blood clot in the brain -- to refrain from contesting the poll.