Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will resign before his mandate expires on April 28, his office said on Monday, after a succession of loyalists deserted the ailing leader in recent days.

Bouteflika would take "steps to ensure state institutions continue to function during the transition period", the presidency said in a brief statement carried by the official APS news agency.

The 82-year-old would resign "before April 28, 2019", after "important decisions" were taken, it added, without specifying when these moves would occur.

Bouteflika has come under mounting pressure to step down since his decision to seek a fifth term despite rarely being seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013.

The Algerian leader said last month he would pull out of the race and postponed April elections, in moves that angered protesters who saw it as a ploy to extend his two decades in power.

Faced with massive street protests across the North African country, a succession of veteran Bouteflika loyalists have deserted the president in recent days.

On Tuesday armed forces chief of staff General Ahmed Gaid Salah, who was appointed by Bouteflika in 2004, said the president should either resign or be declared medically unfit to govern by parliament using its constitutional powers.

And on Wednesday, key coalition ally the National Rally for Democracy (RND) headed by recently sacked prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia called for Bouteflika's resignation "with the aim of smoothing the period of transition".

Under the constitution, once his resignation is tendered, the speaker of Algeria's upper house of parliament, Abdelkader Bensalah, would act as interim leader for up to 90 days during which a presidential election must be organised. </s> Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has submitted his resignation, state news agency APS said on Tuesday, following weeks of mass protests.

The move came after Algeria's army chief of staff demanded immediate constitutional procedures to remove the ailing, 82-year-old leader from office. </s> Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika says he will step down by April 28 after two decades in office.

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika says he will step down by April 28 after two decades in office. . </s> ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday, succumbing to a groundswell of public pressure after weeks of mass protests against his 20-year rule.

The ailing, 82-year-old leader announced he was standing down in a statement carried by state news agency APS, shortly after the army chief of staff demanded immediate action to remove him from office.

On Monday Bouteflika, in poor health and rarely seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013, had said he would quit before the end of his term on April 28.

But chief of staff Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah said that statement had been issued by “unconstitutional and unauthorized parties,” APS said.

“There is no more room to waste time ... We decided clearly ... to stand with the people so all their demands get fulfilled,” Salah said after a meeting with senior officers.

Hundreds of Algerians took to the streets of the capital after Bouteflika’s resignation, waving Algerian flags or driving in convoys through the city center, where on Feb. 22 mass protests broke out.

“Allahu Akbar (God is Great),” shouted a man. Someone else held up a banner saying: “Game over.”

Pressure had been building during the day with opposition groups demanding Bouteflika go immediately, while hundreds of students marched through the capital Algiers to demand the replacement of a political system widely seen as incapable of significant reform.

“Bouteflika’s decision (to resign by the end of his term) will change nothing,” Mustapha Bouchachi, a lawyer and protest leader, told Reuters earlier on Tuesday.

Bouteflika’s resignation will put Abdelkader Bensalah, chairman of the upper house of parliament, in charge as caretaker president for 90 days until elections are held.

Bouchachi had suggested Bouteflika’s nomination of a caretaker government was a move to perpetuate the current political system.

“What is important to us is that we do not accept the (new caretaker) government. Peaceful protests will continue.”

A veteran of Algeria’s war for independence, Bouteflika was first elected president in 1999 and established himself by ending a civil war with Islamist militants that killed an estimated 200,000 people.

But the country remains mired in corruption and, in a sign that the end for Bouteflika’s rule had been approaching, several oligarchs close to his camp were banned from traveling abroad in the past few days, part of a crackdown against his allies.

“The gang has made big money illegally taking advantage of its closeness with decision-makers,” Salah said, according to APS, referring to unnamed business people.

The protests have been driven by the country’s youth and lawyers demanding the removal of a ruling elite seen by many as out of touch with ordinary Algerians and presiding over an economy riven by cronyism. </s> ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerian protesters and opposition leaders are cautiously welcoming President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's planned departure, but say it doesn't go far enough.

Former Prime Minister Ali Benflis and a moderate Islamist movement are among leading voices criticizing the move because it would leave the country's secretive, distrusted power structure in place.

A standoff is also intensifying between Bouteflika's entourage and that of the powerful army chief, who turned against the president amid mass protests over Bouteflika's 20-year rule.

Bouteflika bowed to mounting pressure Monday and announced he will step down by the end of his term April 28, according to his office. Protesters fear it will pave the way for a hand-picked successor instead of a truly democratic change of power.

Students are holding protests in Algiers on Tuesday, and demonstrators are already planning for new nationwide protests Friday. </s> The 82-year-old, who has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, has been clinging to power as pressure mounted for weeks over attempts to prolong his 20-year rule

ALGIERS, Algeria – Algeria's ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will resign before his mandate expires on April 28, his office said, after a succession of loyalists deserted him in the face of massive protests.

The 82-year-old, who has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, has been clinging to power as pressure mounted for weeks over attempts to prolong his 20-year rule.

Bouteflika will resign "before April 28, 2019," after "important decisions" are taken, the presidency said in a statement on Monday, without elaborating.

He would take "steps to ensure state institutions continue to function during the transition period," the statement carried by the official APS news agency said.

Algeria has been rocked by huge protests since the veteran president announced in February that he was seeking a fifth term in office.

Bouteflika said last month he would pull out of the race and postponed April elections, in moves that angered demonstrators, who saw it as a ploy to extend his two decades in power.

As the ire failed to subside, a number of high-profile loyalists have deserted the president.

On Tuesday, April 2, armed forces chief of staff General Ahmed Gaid Salah, who was appointed by Bouteflika in 2004, said the President should either resign or be declared medically unfit to govern by parliament using its constitutional powers.

And on Wednesday key coalition ally the National Rally for Democracy, (RND) headed by recently sacked prime minister Ahmed Ouyahia, called for Bouteflika's resignation "with the aim of smoothing the period of transition."

Under the constitution, once his resignation is tendered, the speaker of Algeria's upper house of parliament, Abdelkader Bensalah, would act as interim leader for up to 90 days during which a presidential election must be organized.

The announcement on Monday, April 1, was greeted by the beeping of some car horns in Algiers, but there was little sign of euphoria as people insisted the whole ruling system must change.

"Bouteflika quits and then what happens?" asked Sofiane, a 25-year-old doctor.

The Movement for the Society of Peace, a moderate Islamist party, said "the President's resignation... without reforms could end up conspiring against the popular movement."

"The move is just a way of keeping the political system with all the wrong turns that have led us to the current situation," it said.

As rumors swirl of frantic behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, prosecutors said they had banned corruption suspects from leaving Algeria after launching graft probes against unnamed individuals.

The authorities did not say who was being targeted by the new investigations into corruption and illegal money transfers abroad, but they followed the arrest of the president's key backer, businessman Ali Haddad.

Haddad, who Forbes magazine describes as one of Algeria's wealthiest entrepreneurs, was detained overnight Saturday to Sunday at a border post with neighbouring Tunisia, a security source said, without giving reasons for the arrest.

On Sunday, the Algerian authorities also banned all private aircraft from taking off and landing until the end of the month.

The statement on Bouteflika's impending resignation came after he named a new government made up mainly of technocrats under recently appointed premier Noureddine Bedoui.

The administration unveiled Sunday, March 31 – which was supposed to steward the country towards a transition – included Gaid Salah remaining in his position as deputy defence minister.

The appointments failed to curb calls for Bouteflika to leave, as hundreds of people in Algiers demonstrated overnight against the announcement.

Algerian media outlets were awash with speculation that the announcement of the new government would pave the way for Bouteflika's resignation.

The news website TSA described the administration as a "result of compromise between the army command and the presidency."

The El Moudjahid daily, traditionally viewed as close to power, ran a headline reading "The Beginning of the End?" and said the army's proposal for Bouteflika to go "is the only one that offers a clear and convincing way out."

The idea of Bouteflika's inner circle retaining their grip on power through a substitute leader has drawn short shrift from protesters dealing with high unemployment and economic hardships.

Young people have made up a key part of the demonstrations in a country where half the population is under 30. – Rappler.com </s> Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has resigned after weeks of mass protests, the state news agency APS reports.

Mr Bouteflika, who had been in power for 20 years, had already dropped plans to seek a fifth term as opposition to his rule grew. The powerful Algerian army had called for the 82-year-old to be declared incapable of carrying out his duties. He suffered a stroke six years ago and has rarely appeared in public since. -Via BBC </s> Algeria's veteran President Abdelaziz Bouteflika informed the Constitutional Council that he is resigning in a move that is to take effect on Tuesday, state television said, after the military called for his impeachment.

Bouteflika "officially advised the Constitutional Council of the end of his term of office as President of the Republic" from Tuesday, said a news ticker on the television.

The report came hours after armed forces chief Ahmed Gaid Salah demanded the immediate launch of impeachment proceedings against Bouteflika as the military dismissed an announcement he would resign before his mandate expires at the end of the month.

In power for two decades, Bouteflika has come under mounting pressure to step down since his decision to seek a fifth term despite rarely being seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013.

The 82-year-old, who uses a wheelchair, said last month he would pull out of the bid for another term, and on Monday his office said he would resign before his mandate expires on April 28.

The moves failed to quell public ire, with hundreds of students taking to the streets again earlier on Tuesday. </s> Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the target of intense and prolonged protests, will step down before April 28, state media report, citing a message sent from the president's office.

The 82-year-old leader had said he planned to run for a fifth term — angering thousands of people who churned in Algeria's streets — before reversing that decision. But when he announced he had changed his mind, Bouteflika also delayed an election that had been set for this month, stoking fears that he indeed would cling to power.

Now, Bouteflika's office says, the government will enter a new "transition" phase, the Algeria Press Service reports. News of Bouteflika's plan to leave office comes a day after he appointed a new government of 27 ministers, headed by Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui.

The state-run agency quotes a "communiqué of the presidency" saying:

"The appointment of the new government on March 31st 2019 by his Excellency Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of the Republic will be followed by important decisions he would take in accordance with the Constitutional Provisions, in order to ensure the continuity of the functioning of the State institutions during the transition period which will start on the date of the announcement of the resignation.

"The resignation of the president of the Republic would occur before 28 April 2019, the date marking the term expiry."

The seismic shifts emanating from Bouteflika's office over the past month have prompted critics to question the legality of the president's decision to unilaterally postpone national elections.

Bouteflika has been in power since 1999 but has been largely absent from the public eye after suffering a stroke in 2013. Rather than attending public events, the president was often represented at government events by only a framed portrait of him.

Critics also have have accused members of Bouteflika's party and the military of using the president as a figurehead to maintain their grip on power. Bouteflika's party, the National Liberation Front, has dominated Algeria's politics since the country gained independence from France in 1962.

When Bouteflika bowed to protests last month and revoked his candidacy, the move was met with muted celebrations among opposition parties — particularly because he postponed a presidential election that had been slated for April 18. His pledge also stopped short of meeting protesters' demands that he leave office immediately. Demonstrators have accused Bouteflika of leading an unresponsive government that allows corruption to prosper while the national economy stagnates.

Last month, as the elderly leader laid his plans to exit the presidency, he also announced a national conference that would review possible reforms for Algeria's political system. That conference will produce a draft constitution subject to a popular referendum, he said, adding that the body should "strive" to complete its work by the end of the year.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announces that he will resign by April 28, following intense pressure from the military and the ruling party to step down amid anti-government protests, bringing an end to his 20-year rule.