Bouteflika Withdraws from Presidential Election After Weeks of Algerian Protests

The office of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the President of Algeria, announced on Monday, March 11, that he will not run for a fifth consecutive term in the presidential election. Following this announcement, the presidential election in Algeria has been postponed. Bouteflika, who has been in power for 20 years, faced a wave of widespread protests and demonstrations against his candidacy over the past three weeks. At 82 years old and having suffered a stroke in 2013, he was hospitalized in Geneva, Switzerland until just a few days ago. The Algerian president has not spoken in public since 2014. Before Bouteflika's withdrawal from the election, over a thousand judges in Algeria announced that they would not oversee the elections if he participated, and religious leaders also expressed their opposition to government interference in their affairs. These events increased pressure on the severely ill Bouteflika. According to Reuters, Bouteflika's longtime allies, who returned to Algeria on Sunday after treatment in Geneva, joined the protesters demanding his resignation. The protesters not only opposed Bouteflika's candidacy but also called for job creation and protested against unemployment and financial and administrative corruption. These protests have shattered years of political stagnation in the country and have worried Algeria's powerful but secretive security institutions. Algerian judges issued a statement supporting the protesters and announced the formation of a new body aimed at 'reviving justice' in the country. In part of this statement, they said, 'We declare our decision not to participate in overseeing an election that goes against the will of the people, which is the only source of power.' The ruling group in the country, which is primarily reliant on the armed forces and security institutions, has so far distanced itself from these events, and law enforcement has shown restraint in dealing with the protesters. For decades, veteran politicians from the era of Algeria's independence have ruled the country, and even with Bouteflika's withdrawal from the election, there is no different replacement for him, likely allowing the same ruling minority to continue governing the country.