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Algiers Algeria – A dissident faction within Algeria's ruling party has backed the army chief's call to declare President Abdelaziz Bouteflika unfit to lead the country, even as several opposition parties and protesters denounced the words of the powerful an attempt to smother their movement.
After weeks of youth-led anti-Bouteflika protests, Lieutenant-General Ahmed Gaid Salah suggested on Tuesday that the Constitutional Council invokes Article 102, which could lead to Bouteflika's removal for health reasons.
"We all call National Liberation Front (FLN) to support the proposal of General Gaid Salah, "said Wednesday a group of dissident politicians within the party.
The announcement took place shortly after former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia called Bouteflika, 82, who is confined in a wheelchair since 2013, to leave office.
Ouyahia said in a statement that he "had recommended the resignation of the president to facilitate the transition period under the constitution".
The former Prime Minister's National Rally for Democracy party is a member of the ruling coalition, dominated by the FLN.
Ouyahia also called for the "rapid formation of a new cabinet".
His comments contrasted sharply with previous remarks before being replaced in a cabinet reshuffle on March 11 by Interior Minister Noureddine Bedouiwhen he warned of imminent chaos and descent into the civil conflict if anti-government rallies persisted.
Abdelmadjid Sidi Said, president of the very influential General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) and a convinced supporter of Bouteflika also withdrew his support for Bouteflika, supporting the army's call to his dismissal.
"UGTA welcomes the call of Lieutenant-General Ahmed Gaid Salah to the implementation of Article 102 of the Constitution," said Sidi Said in a statement released Wednesday, last blow to the highly contested leadership of Bouteflika.
Article 102
Under Article 102, the Constitutional Council is authorized to investigate the health of a president, after which he may proceed to the declaration of incapacity of the person to pay a fee. its functions.
A joint session of the lower and upper houses of Parliament must then verify the results, two-thirds of the legislature having to validate the decision.
The head of the upper house is then called to govern as interim president for a period of 45 days. If Bouteflika is still deemed unfit to resume his duties, the Senate Speaker has three months to organize a new presidential election.
"To resolve the crisis now, the implementation of Article 102 is necessary and is the only guarantee for maintaining a peaceful political situation," said Salah, Bouteflika's army chief and confidante., said Tuesday in a televised speech.
"It is necessary, even imperative, to adopt a solution to get out of this crisis that responds to the legitimate demands of the Algerian people, respects and adheres to the constitution and protects the sovereignty of the state," he said. -he adds.
"Bypbad the will of the people"
But Salah's appeal was rejected by several leading opposition leaders who supported the uprising against the government, as well as protesters.
"It is too late to apply Article 102. This should have been done years ago, and not a month before the end of the fourth term of the President" Mustapha Bouchachi, a prominent lawyer, told Al Jazeera.
Earlier this month, Bouteflika postponed the elections scheduled for April 18 and announced that he would remain in power until the adoption of a new constitution, which effectively extended his mandate.
"The Algerian people will not accept that Abdelkader Bensalah, the Senate Speaker, has played an important role in the corrupt system over the last decade and is, among other things, responsible for electoral fraud, for to succeed Abdelaziz Bouteflika, to oversee the transition ", said Bouchachi.
The lawyer, who has built a reputation as a tireless defender of human rights over the years, added that the Algerians wanted to get rid of the old guard's symbols.
"None of them should have a say on the future of Algeria," he said, calling for the formation of a "government of Algeria". national union "to badist the transition.
"Only independent personalities, who have never been in power, should be named."
Meanwhile, members of the Algerian Workers Party (PT) announced Wednesday their collective resignation from Parliament, a first act of its kind since the beginning of the political crisis on 22 February.
"We will not give credit to what seems to be a strategy to get around the will of the people," Ramadane Tazibt, a former PT deputy, told Al Jazeera, while warning of a "dangerous intervention by the government." army in politics ".
"Gaid Salah's decision is aimed only at saving the system, by removing Bouteflika from power and handing it over to [Senate President] Bensalah … Before any presidential election, we must first discuss the nature of the new regime in which we want to live. "
At a press conference held in Algiers on Wednesday, Mohcine Belabbas, chairman of the Liberal Party of the Rally for Culture and Democracy (RCD), accused the army chief of overstepping his role.
"He is not entitled to ask the Constitution to use Article 102 […] This is a political maneuver of a faction within the regime, "said Belabbas.
The RCD called for the dissolution of both chambers and the constitutional council; the establishment of a collegiate presidency to oversee the transition and formation of a government of national salvation to handle the current affairs of the state.
According to Mr. Belabbas, "the members of the collegial presidency must be under the age of 60 and be elected by independent unions, such as the judiciary and the institution of higher education. will be responsible for initiating discussions with various social groups. "
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