Algeria’s parliament is set to meet Tuesday to name an interim successor to President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, state media reported, after mass protests pushed the ailing leader from power. “It was decided to hold a meeting of the two chambers of parliament on Tuesday... at 9:00 am (0800 GMT),” the upper house of parliament said Saturday in a statement carried by the official APS news agency. Algeria’s constitution stipulates that the speaker of the upper house of parliament, currently 77-year-old Abdelkader Bensalah, should take the presidential reins. The lawmakers are expected to finalize the “vacancy of the post of president... and then designate Abdelkader Bensalah as head of state,” said communications head for the upper house of parliament Salim Rabahi. The are targeting a triumvirate they dub “3B” -- Abdelakder Bensalah, head of the constitution council Tayeb Belaiz, and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 07, 2019 03:56 UTC