Latest reports suggest Algerian Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui is soon going to resign from his post to pave the way for the elections this year.
According to a report from Reuters, citing two senior sources, Bedoui’s resignation will likely facilitate the holding of elections in the country.
Last week, Army Chief Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah called out the electoral commission to call an election by Sept. 15, a move that would trigger a 90-day countdown to the vote. He said an independent body for the organization and surveillance of the election should be quickly installed. He added that holding elections is the only way to normalize the functioning of institutions in the country.
But the people of Algeria are still not ready for the elections as they want a complete political overhaul. The protesters have rejected fresh elections until there is a more thorough change of the power structure. They insist they will continue with the mass protests until Bedoui, Interim President Abdelkader Bensalah and other close aides of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika make an exit and that the army plays a smaller role in state affairs.
Opposition parties and civil society groups have also demanded constitutional changes and reform of state institutions, seeking a transition period towards democracy rather than a quick election.
On Tuesday, the students held a weekly protest where they chanted that they would accept no elections “until the gang is removed”, a reference to Bouteflika’s power circle, an elite entrenched largely since independence from France in 1962.
Notably, if the Electoral College is summoned on September 15 as demanded by Gaid Salah, polls would most likely take place in mid-December.
Sources close to prominent figures including former Prime Minister Mouloud Hamrouche and human rights lawyer Mustapha Bouchachi are considering running for president if the election is called.
