Until Monday, the 82-year-old leader had been planning to seek a fifth term, even though he was incapacitated and highly unpopular among young Algerians
The resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, seen here in November, 2017, possibly signals the start of a political revolution that could see Algeria form a democracy.Algerian President and dictator Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced the end of his 20-year rule and a delay to the planned spring elections after weeks of largely peaceful mass protests against his regime threatened to turn violent and destabilize the oil-rich North African country.
Mr. Bouteflika was the only North African leader to survive the Arab Spring revolutions that started in Tunisia in late 2010 and quickly spread to Libya and Egypt. Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled the country in January, 2011, after which Tunisia was able to form the first North African democracy. About the same time, Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak was ousted. In late 2011, Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed during Libya’s brutal civil war, which has yet to end.
“The fifth mandate of Bouteflika is dead,” Yahia Zoubir, the Algerian director of research in geopolitics at the Kedge Business school in Marseilles, France, said in an interview. “Everyone in Algeria is aware that this is a big turning point for the country. What is amazing is that this happened peacefully.”A government reshuffle would take place soon, the office of the presidency said, followed by a national conference that will set a new political agenda by the end of the year.
Algerian elections are not considered democratic, as Mr. Bouteflika has quashed potential rivals and had constitutional term limits changed to allow him to serve more than two terms.
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