Hassan Jebil
22 March 2019•Update: 22 March 2019
ALGIERS
Algerians staged fresh demonstrations in Algiers on Friday to demand the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Defying relatively cold weather and rain, protesters gathered in several parts of the capital singing patriotic anthems and shouting anti-Bouteflika slogans.
The protests were accompanied by stepped-up security in several districts of the capital, especially in and around vital state institutions.
Last week, after several weeks of protests against his plan to stand for a fifth presidential term, the 82-year-old Bouteflika postponed elections slated for April 18 and officially withdrew his candidacy.
Last Friday, Algerians staged mass demonstrations -- in several parts of the country -- against the move, accusing Bouteflika of unconstitutionally extending his fourth term in office, which is set to expire next month.
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 had repeatedly urged the aging leader, who in 2013 was treated for a blood clot in the brain, to refrain from contesting the upcoming poll.
Writing By Mahmoud Barakat
