Algerians stage fresh anti-Bouteflika protests

By Abdelrazzak Abdallah

ALGIERS (AA) - Algerians staged fresh protests in several provinces on Tuesday to demand President Abdelaziz Bouteflika step from power.

The demonstrations came one day after the 82-year-old president reaffirmed his decision to hold a national conference meant to lead to a constitutional referendum.

Last week, following weeks of popular protests, Bouteflika announced that presidential elections -- originally slated for April 18 -- would be postponed to a later date, yet to be decided.

He also announced his decision to refrain from contesting the poll, saying the move reflected “the will of the people” and vowed to form a new government and convene a conference devoted to “national dialogue.”

The opposition, however, has cried foul, seeing the move as a surreptitious attempt by the ruling National Liberation Front (NLF) to prolong Bouteflika’s fourth term in office.

On Tuesday, hundreds of students demonstrated in the capital Algiers, carrying banners against Bouteflika's ruling regime, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter in the area.

Similar demonstrations were reported in several other provinces as Bouira, Bejaia and Jijel.

Last month, the NLF nominated Bouteflika -- who has ruled Algeria since 1999 -- to run for office.

Opposition figures have repeatedly urged the elderly president, who in 2013 was treated for a blood clot in the brain, to bow out of the election.