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TEHRAN, Mar 03 - Anti-government protests resumed in Algeria on Sunday as tens of thousands gathered in the capital and other towns to demand Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika drop plans to stand for a fifth term, witnesses and residents said.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - In a rare wave of public dissent, Algerians have been taking to the streets since rallies calling on him to step down began 10 days ago. Bouteflika, 82, in shaky health for years, was due to submit his official election papers at the Constitutional Council in Algiers on Sunday, the deadline for candidates.
He need not do so in person, the state news agency APS said. Bouteflika, rarely seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013, was at the weekend still in Switzerland for unspecified medical checks, according to Swiss media.
Algeria's weak and divided opposition and civic groups have called for more protests should Bouteflika, who has been in power for 20 years, confirm his re-election bid.
Opponents say that Bouteflika is no longer fit to lead, citing his poor health and what they call chronic corruption and a lack of economic reforms to tackle unemployment that exceeds 25 percent among people under the age of 30.
But analysts say protesters lack leadership and organization in a country still dominated by veterans, like Bouteflika, of the 1954-62 independence war against France.
Thousands of students gathered at several university faculties, one of them near the Constitutional Council where presidential candidates file their papers, chanting: "No to a fifth term!" or "A free and democratic Algeria!"
There was heavy security around the Constitutional Council, and police prevented restive students from leaving the campus nearby, keeping the main gates shut. But some students were seen later marching outside.
"We will not stop until we get rid of this system," said Aicha, a 23-year-old student.
Many university graduates face joblessness in an economy dominated by the state.
Source: Reuters
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