Key coalition partner calls on Algerian Bouteflika to leave

The ally in the ruling party coalition in Algeria on Wednesday called for the resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, exerting pressure on the troubled leader after the army chief demanded that he be declared unfit.

In a statement signed by his chief, the recently dismissed Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, the National Rally for Democracy (RND) said he "recommends the resignation of the president (…) in order to smooth the transition period".

Mbad demonstrations have been taking place for weeks to demand Bouteflika's resignation since he had announced that he was standing for a fifth term with the support of his National Liberation Front and RND.

Ouyahia has been a longtime supporter of Bouteflika and has been his prime minister on three occasions since 2003, before being sacrificed on March 11 with the unsuccessful goal of calming the intensification of street protests.

Bouteflika, 82, has been in power since 1999. He was weakened by a stroke in 2013, affecting his mobility and speech. From rare recent public appearances, he was in a wheelchair.

The president spent long periods of time in hospitals in Europe, and much of the day-to-day business was left to ghost mediators.

The prospect of another five years of government led by a helpless powerless president triggered the eruption of mbad protests on February 22, which intensified each week.

The announcement by the president on March 11 that he was withdrawing his candidacy and would be acting, but that new elections held under a new constitution would fail to soothe the wrath of public opinion.

Since then, influential figures of the regime have broken ranks with Bouteflika to maintain their power.

On Tuesday, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, General Ahmed Gaid Salah, appointed by Bouteflika in 2004, said the president should resign or be declared medically incapable of governing by Parliament, using his constitutional powers .