Bouteflika Reportedly to Resign Following Weeks of Mass Demonstrations

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the ailing and beleaguered president of Algeria, is to announce his resignation on Tuesday, according to Ennahar TV, a private Algerian-based TV channel, which cited political sources. The move follows a call on Saturday by Algeria’s military chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Ahmed Gaed Salah, for the country’s constitutional council to declare Bouteflika unfit for office, in accordance with article 102 of the constitution. Under that article, the 82-year-old has the option of resigning. Bouteflika, who has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, agreed not to run for a fifth term in office amid weeks of street protests, but said he would wait for a national conference on political change before formally stepping down. This further angered protesters, and thousands have continued to take to the streets demanding an end to Bouteflika’s 20-year rule and the dismantling of the entire ruling elite.