Algeria: Who is Bouteflika, What Would Happen Next?

By Nawal Sayed

CAIRO, March 27 (SEE) – Algeria's army chief of staff demanded incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika be declared unfit to rule after weeks of protests against him.

Speaking on television, Lt Gen Ahmed Gaed Salah said "We must find a way out of this crisis immediately, within the constitutional framework."

The president has already agreed not to stand for a fifth term in upcoming elections, which have been delayed.

[caption id="attachment_42708" align="aligncenter" width="753"] People carry national flags and banners during a protest calling on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to quit, in Algiers, Algeria March 26, 2019. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina[/caption]

Who is Abdelaziz Bouteflika?

Abdelaziz Bouteflika was born on March 2, 1937. He is an Algerian veteran politician who has been the fifth President of Algeria since 1999.

He served as a Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1963 to 1979. He was the president of the United Nations General Assembly for a term in 1974.

Backed by the army, he came into office after the 1990s civil war and was largely viewed as a unifier of the many factions underpinning Algerian politics.

As president, he presided over the end of the bloody Algerian Civil War in 2002, and he ended emergency rule in February 2011 amidst regional unrest.

His "westernized style" led him to be called "the dandy diplomat" in some quarters.

Unlike some leaders in the region, his presidency survived the protests of the Arab Spring in 2011 - until now.

He does not travel around the country or abroad, except for medical treatment.

His aides represent him at events and read his messages to the public, and the announcement that he was not standing for a fifth presidential term was read on his behalf by a newsreader on national TV.

Protests against Bouteflika began last month after the 82-year-old president, who has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013, said he planned to stand for another term.

But people have continued to march even after he agreed not to stand, instead demanding immediate change.

What will happen next?

After the army chief of staff's statements made on Tuesday, the Constitutional Council must first agree to trigger Article 102 of the constitution.

Both chambers of parliament would then meet in a joint session and vote on whether the president is unfit to perform his duties. A two-thirds majority is required.

If this passes, the speaker of the upper house of parliament, the Council of the Nation, would take over the duties of the president for 45 days with a specific mission to prepare for new presidential elections.

The provisional president cannot stand in those elections.

[caption id="attachment_42709" align="aligncenter" width="752"] Algeria's Senate President Abdelkader Bensalah waits for the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron at Houari Boumediene airport in Algiers, Algeria December 6, 2017. Picture taken December 6, 2017. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra[/caption]