Following six weeks of protests, Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika said he will resign before April 28, the date his fourth term ends. The 82-year-old, who has been in power for 20 years, will ensure “continuity of the state’s institutions” before he quits, according to APS news agency. Defections took place, after Bouteflika said that he will extend the fourth term and postpone elections with the army chief Gaid Salah asking for the implementation of article 102 of the constitution to declare the President unfit to rule. Last month Bouteflika, who has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, also announced a major cabinet reshuffle. Ali Haddad, one of Algeria’s top businessmen and a backer of ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was arrested as he tried to cross into Tunisia, an Algerian security source said on Sunday.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 01, 2019 21:33 UTC