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The Algerian interim government has exceeded the deadline set by the constitution to hold elections to replace deposed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. In the absence of a date set for upcoming polls and a political crisis crippling the country, many Algerians are wondering what will happen next.
The current head of the caretaker government must stay.
"Constitutionally, President Abdelkader Bensalah and the members of the government must remain in place until the organization of the next elections", explains Ybadine Abdellah Rafik, a legal adviser in Algeria.
With the expiry of the interim government's mandate on Tuesday 9 July and the cancellation of the presidential elections scheduled for 4 July, many worry about an escalation of stalemate between the protesters and the government.
National Forum for Dialogue
At the end of the week, the interim government called for a national dialogue to find a solution to the current political crisis.
"The majority of people who had the opportunity to attend talked about safeguards before dialogue," says Rafik, who told RFI that he had been invited to participate in the dialogue, as a as possible representative of "young elites".
The second major point of the dialogue was "to organize free elections to resolve this crisis," says the legal adviser.
But this point highlights the delicate situation that this crisis has created.
Game of concessions
The protesters are still demanding that the current interim government leaders withdraw as they represent elements of the government of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Without concessions from the authorities, the demonstrators are adamant that they will remain on the streets until their demands are met – which was the case before and led to the cancellation of the 4 July vote.
Rafik says that students are still doing what they have been doing since February 22: "Protesters are still in the street. On July 5th there was a mbadive demonstration, and also today [Tuesday]. The demonstrations of the people are still intact ".
And protests should continue to cripple the economy by strikes at the national level until protesters' demands are heard.
These demands include the dismantling of the entire political system, including the departure of all the symbols of the old system, including Ahmed Gaid Salah, the Chief of Staff of the Army, Abdelkader Bensalah , the head of the Interim State and the government of Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.
Many have seen in the attempt of the national dialogue a simple polish to keep in place the current actors of the government.
"This dialogue has raised many concerns. This is seen as another way of regenerating the old system, because many personalities who had been part of the system for so many years were participating in this national dialogue as part of the opposition. "Says Zine Labidine Ghebouli, a political consultant based in Algeria. and contributor to the Washington Institute for Near East policy.
"In addition, many protesters complained that this national dialogue did not create any conditions for effective exchange."
"Unless the political system makes serious concessions, including significant resignations from the caretaker government, I do not think the protesters will accept any dialogue," Ghebouli said.
Leaders of the peloton?
The people invited to the dialogue were mainly members of civil society and opposition parties.
Ghebouli says that there seems to be no official leadership of the protest movement.
"At this point, the movement has to organize," he said. "The political system will not negotiate with 40 million Algerians, it needs representatives or at least mediators to be able to reach a consensus on the next period".
But Malia Bouattia, an Anglo-Algerian activist points out that since the beginning of the demonstrations, leaders have come forward: "Civil society has met on many occasions, bringing together trade unionists, journalists, students, academics, activists. The demonstrations have been taking place all over the country for more than 20 weeks. This would not be possible without organizer networks. "
The crucial problem preventing the country from emerging from the current political crisis is "the total lack of interest shown by the military and the government to open meaningful channels of communication," she added.
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