After 20 Years With A Single President, Algeria Looks For A New Leader

By Julian Hayda
Students carry banners and chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. President of the Algerian Constitutional Council Tayeb Belaiz resigned on Tuesday amid mass protests in the country demanding for his departure. “Belaiz notified the members of the Constitutional Council, during a meeting held Tuesday, that he presented his resignation to the interim president Abdelkader Bensalah,” the council said in a statement.
Students carry banners and chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. President of the Algerian Constitutional Council Tayeb Belaiz resigned on Tuesday amid mass protests in the country demanding for his departure. "Belaiz notified the members of the Constitutional Council, during a meeting held Tuesday, that he presented his resignation to the interim president Abdelkader Bensalah," the council said in a statement. Anis Belghoul / AP Photo
Students carry banners and chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. President of the Algerian Constitutional Council Tayeb Belaiz resigned on Tuesday amid mass protests in the country demanding for his departure. “Belaiz notified the members of the Constitutional Council, during a meeting held Tuesday, that he presented his resignation to the interim president Abdelkader Bensalah,” the council said in a statement.
Students carry banners and chant slogans during a demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, Tuesday, April 16, 2019. President of the Algerian Constitutional Council Tayeb Belaiz resigned on Tuesday amid mass protests in the country demanding for his departure. "Belaiz notified the members of the Constitutional Council, during a meeting held Tuesday, that he presented his resignation to the interim president Abdelkader Bensalah," the council said in a statement. Anis Belghoul / AP Photo

After 20 Years With A Single President, Algeria Looks For A New Leader

By Julian Hayda
WBEZ brings you fact-based news and information. Sign up for our newsletters to stay up to date on the stories that matter.

After months of mass anti-government protests, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down in early April after 20 years of rule. Protesters sought to take down a political system they said was corrupt, concentrating power in the hands of a few military, intelligence and business leaders. The tipping point came when Bouteflika, 82, announced he would run for a fifth term in office; protesters responded with slogans including “leave means leave” and “no fifth term.”

It remains unclear who will replace Bouteflika in the long term, though an election date has been set for July 4. In the meantime, Interim President Abdelkader Bensalah on Tuesday appointed a new head of Algeria’s Constitutional Council. The former chief resigned amid intense pressure from pro-democracy protesters. Joining Worldview to help us understand what comes next for Algeria is Yuree Noh. Noh is a postdoctoral research fellow with the Middle East Initiative at Harvard University’s Belfer Center.