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Tens of thousands of people demonstrated Friday for the sixth consecutive time in Algiers to demand the dismissal of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, after the army asked him to withdraw this week. The army chief called for a constitutional process to declare Bouteflika unfit to hold office.
Some protesters called on the entire Algerian political elite to withdraw, claiming that, although they were against Bouteflika, they also rejected the intervention of the army in civil political life.
The army chief of staff, Lt. General Ahmed Gaed Salah, on Tuesday urged the constitutional council to decide whether Mr. Bouteflika, 82 years old and largely out of control, is in danger. public eye since its attack of a stroke in 2013, is in a state of function.
A long-time loyal supporter of Bouteflika, Gaid Salah said on television that it was "imperative" to find a way out of the crisis "that meets the legitimate demands" of the people, according to the constitution.
Some Algerians wonder if the army is the institution to manage the radical political and economic overhaul it calls. But whatever new system emerges, the army says it wants to keep a decisive role.
Bouteflika combines the desert
Salah's appeal received support from the ruling party, the FLN, and the main union, as a solution to the country's political crisis. Although the protesters see the proposal as a means for the political elite to retain power and appoint a handpicked president.
On Wednesday, long-time partner of the Bouteflika coalition, the National Rally for Democracy (RND) of former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, also called for his resignation. The head of the powerful General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), Abdelmadjid Sidi Said, also hosted the call of the army chief.
Ali Haddad, a powerful businessman who helped fund Bouteflika's election campaigns, resigned Thursday as president of the influential FCE forum on business.
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