Algerians in huge numbers took to the streets for the 11th consecutive Friday to demand the departure of the country’s ruling elite a month after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to step down on April 2 vowing to mass protests and a call from the military for his impeachment, reported VOA News.
Notably, Bouteflika’s exit was not enough to satisfy the Algerians who want now to make sure no close aides of the former President hold any important position in the ruling elite. They go for mass demonstrations every Friday to demand the resignation of senior Bouteflika allies including interim President Abdelkader Bensalah and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui. The weekly protests have become a key means of keeping up the pressure on the government.
Abdelkader Bensalah, who has been appointed as the interim President, is currently serving for 90 days until a presidential election gets through on July 4.
Some protesters held banners reading “You must go” and “Thieves you have destroyed the country.”
Algeria’s political opposition and protesters are opposing the new election date and the process for transferring power. They want elections in the country to be conducted on their own terms and a new political system to replace the one that was adopted when Algeria gained independence from France in 1962.
On Wednesday, military chief Ahmed Gaid Salah, a long-time Bouteflika loyalist who ended up withdrawing his support for his boss, called for dialogue between protesters and state institutions in a bid to solve the ongoing political crisis in the country.
He said dialogue is the wisest way to present constructive proposals, bring points of view closer and reach a consensus around the available solutions.
Friday’s protest is the last before the holy month of Ramadan begins. But Algerians have shown no signs of stopping down as they have pledged to keep up their protests regardless.
