Thousands of Algerians took to the streets in Algiers on Friday, rejecting early legislative elections announced by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, as weekly demonstrations by the Hirak pro-democracy movement supporters gain momentum, reported Africa News.
Defying the coronavirus restriction on gatherings, the protestors came out from different parts of the capital, converging on the central post office, the Hirak movement’s emblematic rallying point.
Demonstrators were heard shouting slogans like “No elections with mafia gangs” and “a civil not a military state.”
On Thursday, President Tebboune issued a decree setting June 12 for early legislative elections, after dissolving parliament last month. He also released 30 detained protestors, though dozens are still in jail.
The president announced that the legislative elections will be followed by local elections for mayors and town councilors.
The Hirak movement erupted in February 2019 in protest against then-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s decision to seek a fifth term in office. The weekly protests and demonstrations by the Algerians forced the long-serving leader to quit after 20 long years.
Even after Bouteflika’s removal from office, the Hirak protestors continued with the protests to demand a sweeping overhaul of a ruling system in place since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962 and seen as synonymous with authoritarianism and corruption.
Last year in March, the Algerian government imposed coronavirus restrictions to curb the spread of the virus that had a setback on the movement as all protests were suspended. Since the Hirak movement’s second anniversary on February 22, the activists has restarted weekly Friday protests.
Tebboune, who was elected in December 2019, had previously expressed support for the leaderless Hirak movement. But the protesters remain unsatisfied with the president claiming that he did not introduce any major reforms. Protesters even boycotted the December 2019 presidential election and called the vote a charade.
The president promised a major government change following Algeria’s upcoming parliamentary elections to fulfill the protesters’ demands.
