Algeria's Bouteflika to resign before mandate ends April 28

ALGIERS — Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will resign before his mandate ends on April 28, state news agency APS said on Monday, bowing to weeks of mass protests and army pressure seeking an end to his 20-year rule.

There was no immediate reaction from leaders of the protest movement that has buffeted the major oil producer since February 22. Many protesters want a new generation of leaders to replace an elderly, secretive ruling elite seen by many as out of touch and unable to jump-start a faltering economy hampered by cronyism.

APS said Bouteflika, who is 82 and in poor health, would take important decisions to ensure "continuity of the state's institutions" before stepping down. It did not spell out a date for Bouteflika's departure or give more details immediately.

Under Algeria's constitution, Abdelkader Bensalah, chairman of the upper house of parliament, would take over as caretaker president for 90 days until elections are held.

Bouteflika, rarely seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013, at first sought to defuse the unrest by saying on March 11 he was dropping plans to run for a fifth term.

But he gave no timetable for his exit in favour of waiting for a national conference on reforms to address the outpouring of discontent over corruption, nepotism, economic mismanagement and the protracted grip on power of veterans of the 1954-62 war of independence against France.

Bouteflika's hesitation further enraged protesters, spurring the powerful army chief of staff to step in by proposing last week to implement a provision of Algeria's constitution that calls for a constitutional council to determine whether Bouteflika was still fit to govern or allow him to resign.

But Bouteflika signalled late on Sunday that he was on his way out when he appointed a caretaker Cabinet, since an interim leader cannot appoint ministers under the constitution.

Incumbent Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui will head the caretaker administration.

Central bank Governor Mohamed Loukal was named finance minister, while the former head of the state power and gas utility, Mohamed Arkab, will take up the energy portfolio. OPEC member Algeria is a major oil and natural gas exporter.

12 businessmen probed for alleged graft 

The announcement of Bouteflika’s pending resignation came hours after private Ennahar TV said Algeria had seized the passports of 12 businessmen over corruption allegations in an apparent swoop on associates of the president.

On Sunday, authorities already arrested Ali Haddad, a leading Algerian businessman who was close to Bouteflika, who has been facing protests for more than a month to resign.

On Monday, the state prosecutor opened cases against “some people” over alleged corruption and banned them from transferring assets abroad, the state news agency APS said.

It gave no details, but Ennahar TV, a well-informed media outlet throughout the wave of unrest, said 12 businessmen had been targeted and their passports seized, citing a statement from the general prosecutor.

Apart from Haddad, two tycoons close to Bouteflika, Mahieddine Tahkout and Reda Kouninef, were put on the list, according to Ennahar.

Some demonstrators have rejected Algeria’s tradition of military intervention in civilian matters and want to dismantle the entire power elite, known locally as “le pouvoir”, which includes army officers, the long-ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) Party and business tycoons.

Several close allies, including FLN figures and union leaders, had in the past weeks abandoned Bouteflika.

He established himself in the early 2000s by ending a civil war with Islamist militants that claimed 200,000 lives.

But dissatisfaction grew with an establishment widely seen as unaccountable, raising pressure for a new generation to take over capable of modernising the oil-dependent state and giving hope to a young population impatient for a better life.