The Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Wednesday named Finance Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane as the country’s new prime minister, asking him to form a new government as the country struggles to curb a deep socio-economic crisis, reported Middle East Monitor.
The 60-year-old Benabderrahmane replaces Abdelaziz Djerad, who had held the post since late 2019 and presented his government’s resignation last week, following early parliamentary elections held on June 12.
“Aimene Benabderrahmane has been appointed prime minister and charged with carrying on consultations with political parties and civil society to form a government as soon as possible,” the presidency statement said.
Algerian President Tebboune, who had previously expressed dissatisfaction with Djerad and his cabinet, thanked him for leading the government during difficult conditions, particularly the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Elected in December 2019, President Tebboune has repeatedly vowed to carry out political and economic reforms after mass protests demanding the departure of the ruling elite forced his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down in April 2019.
Also, Wednesday, Algeria’s main Islamist party the Movement of Society for Peace (MSP), which came third in the vote with 65 seats in the 407-seat legislature, said it would not be part of a new government.
Notably, the country’s incumbent National Liberation Front (FLN) won the most seats out of any party in the parliamentary elections but failed to reach a majority, in a vote marred by boycotts and low turnout. The June 12 election was marked by just 23% voter participation and no majority winner after two years of mass protests and political turmoil.
Algeria’s long-running Hirak pro-democracy protest movement boycotted the polls. The Hirak protest movement is demanding an uprooting of the entire political system. The low national turnout has been seen as a sign of Algerians’ defiance of a political class deemed to have lost much of its credibility.
