Joy in the streets of Algeria: President Abdelaziz Buteflika resigned after 20 years of power

This is a historic day for Algerians and thousands of people took to the streets to celebrate, wrapped in flags: President Abdelaziz Buteflika, 82, resigned Tuesday night after 20 years in power. It was after more than a month of unprecedented protests against him and after the army released his hand.

Buteflika "officially warned the Constitutional Council of the end of his term as President of the Republic" on Tuesday, said the national television, a few hours after the army has questioned the authority of the presidency .

This decision "is intended to appease the hearts of my compatriots, to enable them to project together in Algeria towards a better future," said the head of state in his resignation letter, published by the government. official agency APS.

National television broadcast footage of Buteflika handing over his letter of resignation to the chairman of the Constitutional Council, Tayeb Belaiz. Abdelkader Bensalah, 77, president of the Council of the Nation (upper house of Parliament), was charged by the Constitution with guarantee the replacement of Buteflika for a maximum period of 90 days, in which you have to hold presidential elections.

Buteflika and his entourage clung to power even after I suffered a severe stroke in 2013 who left him prostrate in a wheelchair, unable to travel and talk to his people. Since then, he has barely been seen in public.

Celebrations on the streets

As soon as the news of Buteflika's resignation has been known, the car horns in the streets of Algiers and the inhabitants of the capital gathered in the Plaza de la Grande Poste, epicenter of the demonstrations of recent weeks.

Millions of people have called for the departure of the president with peaceful protests throughout Algeria for more than a month, but also departure from its environment and the "system" in power.

The demonstrations began on February 10, when Buteflika announced its intention to aspire to a fifth term in an election originally scheduled for April 18.

After renouncing his aspirations, the president deferred sine die elections, but should remain in office after the end of his current term to organize a transition and reform process.

Twenty years in power

"Butef", as familiarly called his compatriots, was born on March 2, 1937 in Uchda (Morocco) in a family from Tlemcen, in western Algeria. He joined the National Liberation Front (FLN) in 1956 in 1956, fought against France, then the colonial power.

With the independence of the country, in 1962, he became with just 25 years at the Ministry of Sports and Tourism under the presidency of Ahmed Ben Bella, one year before inheriting the portfolio of diplomacy, which he held until 1979.

In June 1965, supported the coup d'etat of Huari Boumediene, then Minister of Defense, who deposed Ben Bella and badumed leadership of the state. Buteflika was considered the dolphin of Boumediene, but at his death in 1978, the army separated him from the estate, and then progressively moved away from the political scene.

After a exile in Dubai and Geneva, Buteflika, imposed by the military, was introduced as candidate for the presidential election of April 1999, in which he won as single applicant after the withdrawal of his six opponents in case of fraud.

"I am Algeria, I am the incarnation of the Algerian people"He said when he badumed.

With Algeria in the midst of civil war against Islamist guerrillas – a conflict that officially left 200,000 dead In 10 years, the new president sought to restore peace through an amnesty.

In 2011, as the "Arab Spring" ended with several leaders in the region, Buteflika bought social peace through oil money.

Doubts about his ability to govern increased as his health deteriorated. He was hospitalized urgently in Paris late 2005 due to gastric bleeding, then in 2013 due to a stroke that left him with serious consequences.

During his 80-day hospitalization in Paris, the opposition vainly called on the Constitutional Council to apply the impeachment procedure. Against all odds, in 2014 chained a fourth term.

However, the fall in oil prices has shown the heavy dependence of the Algerian economy on hydrocarbons.

"He should have left office at the end of his second term, after achieving national reconciliation and won the hearts of a large part of the population," political scientist Rachid Tlemçani said during a meeting. with the AFP news agency.