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>ALGIERS, April 2 (Reuters) - Hundreds of students marched in Algiers on Tuesday demanding the immediate resignation of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and the replacement of Algeria’s political system, a day after the veteran ruler announced he would leave by the end of the month.

Leaders of a mass protest movement that has transformed the political landscape since it began on Feb 22. have not yet commented on Bouteflika’s Monday evening announcement that he will step down before his term expires on April 28.

But the peaceful march through central Algiers by students demanding a new generation of rulers suggested his statement had not reduced all pressure for reform built up by weeks of demonstrations seeking an end to his 20-year-old rule.

“We want a regime change” and “We don’t want Bouteflika or Said (his brother and presidential adviser),” the crowd chanted.

The only opposition party that has commented so far on Bouteflika’s statement is the Islamist Movement for the Society of Peace (MSP), saying Bouteflika leaving without real reforms was a move to undermine the protesters’ demands.

“This step is made to preserve the political system,” the MSP said in a statement.

Protests have been driven by youth demanding the removal of a ruling elite seen by many as out of touch with ordinary Algerians and unable to revive an economy riven by cronyism.

Bouteflika, 82 and in poor health, would take important decisions to ensure “continuity of the state’s institutions” before stepping down, the presidency said in Monday’s statement cited by state media. It did not elaborate.

Under Algeria’s constitution, Abdelkader Bensalah, chairman of the upper house of parliament, would take over as caretaker president for 90 days until elections are held.

Bouteflika, rarely seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013, at first sought to defuse the unrest by saying on March 11 he was dropping plans to run for a fifth term.

But he gave no timetable for his exit, advocating a national conference on reforms to address the outpouring of discontent over corruption, nepotism, economic mismanagement and the protracted grip on power of veterans.

Bouteflika’s hesitation further enraged protesters, spurring the army chief of staff to step in by proposing last week to implement a provision of the constitution under which a constitutional council would determine whether Bouteflika was still fit to govern or allow him to resign.

Most opposition parties have rejected a new caretaker government named by Bouteflika on Sunday because they see new Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui as too close to the ruling elite.

Some demonstrators have rejected Algeria’s tradition of military intervention in civilian matters and want to dismantle the entire power elite, known locally as “le pouvoir”, which includes army officers, the long-ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party, business tycoons and union leaders.

Several close allies, including FLN figures and union leaders, have in the past weeks abandoned Bouteflika. (Writing by Ulf Laessing, Editing by William Maclean)</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>PARIS (AP) - He fought to free Algeria from colonizer France, he reconciled his war-ravaged nation and he negotiated with a famed terrorist. But Abdelaziz Bouteflika couldn't overcome mass discontent as his rule dragged on.

Bouteflika's office announced Monday that he agreed to step down before his term expires April 28, after 20 years as president. The move was a concession to six weeks of mass protests as the army chief and other powerful figures started turning against him.

Bouteflika had been known as a wily political survivor, but at 82 and diminished ever since a 2013 stroke, appeared to underestimate the depth of frustration with his stagnant leadership.

In Algeria's bloody independence war, he commanded the southern Mali front and slipped into France clandestinely in 1961 to contact jailed liberation leaders.

He later embodied the Third World revolutionary who defied the West, acting as a prominent voice for the developing nations movement. He stood up to the likes of Henry Kissinger at the height of the Cold War, and was active in the United Nations, where he presided over the U.N. General Assembly in 1974.

Bouteflika famously negotiated with the terrorist known as Carlos the Jackal to free oil ministers who had been taken hostage in a 1975 attack on OPEC headquarters in Vienna and flown to Algiers.

FILE - In this Oct. 1, 1975 file photo Abdelaziz Bouteflika, left, meets with U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the U.S. State Department suite at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel Towers. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's office announced Monday that he will step down by the end of his current term April 28, ceding to weeks of mass protests against his rule. It was a stunning concession for the 82-year-old leader, who has been diminished by a stroke but has been known as a wily political survivor ever since he fought for independence from France six decades ago. (AP Photo/Dave Pickoff, File)

Yet Bouteflika stood firmly with the United States in the fight against terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks, particularly on intelligence-sharing and military cooperation.

He came to the presidency after its darkest period, the 1990s Islamic insurgency. After taking power in 1999, Bouteflika managed to bring back stability to a country devastated by killings and distrust.

The insurgency then linked with al-Qaida and metastasized into a Sahara-wide extremist movement.

As president, age and illness took its toll, and corruption scandals dogged him and associates.

Bouteflika also failed to create an economy that could offer enough jobs for Algeria's growing youth population despite the nation's vast oil and gas wealth.

In a country where secrecy surrounds the leadership, it has never been clear whether Bouteflika was fully in charge or whether the powerful army was pulling the strings.

Aomar Ouali in Algiers, Algeria, and Angela Charlton in Paris, contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Sept. 18, 1974 file photo President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, right, and UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim confer during the opening of the General Assembly in New York. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's office announced Monday that he will step down by the end of his current term April 28, ceding to weeks of mass protests against his rule. It was a stunning concession for the 82-year-old leader, who has been diminished by a stroke but has been known as a wily political survivor ever since he fought for independence from France six decades ago.(AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler, File)

FILE - In this June 9, 2004 file photo, President Bush welcomes Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika at the G-8 Summit on Sea Island, Ga. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's office announced Monday that he will step down by the end of his current term April 28, ceding to weeks of mass protests against his rule. It was a stunning concession for the 82-year-old leader, who has been diminished by a stroke but has been known as a wily political survivor ever since he fought for independence from France six decades ago. (AP Photo/POOL/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - In this March 2, 2003 file photo, French President Jacques Chirac, top, and his Algerian counterpart Abdelaziz Bouteflika stand at attention at the airport in the capital Algiers. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's office announced Monday that he will step down by the end of his current term April 28, ceding to weeks of mass protests against his rule. It was a stunning concession for the 82-year-old leader, who has been diminished by a stroke but has been known as a wily political survivor ever since he fought for independence from France six decades ago. (AP Photo/Patrick Kovarik, Pool, File)

FILE - In this Dec.19, 2012 file photo, French President Francois Hollande, left, and Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stand in a car as they drive through Algiers. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's office announced Monday that he will step down by the end of his current term April 28, ceding to weeks of mass protests against his rule. It was a stunning concession for the 82-year-old leader, who has been diminished by a stroke but has been known as a wily political survivor ever since he fought for independence from France six decades ago. (AP Photo/Anis Belghoul, File)</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>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.</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>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 (Reuters) - Leading Algerian businessman Ali Haddad, who was part of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s inner circle, has been arrested at the Tunisian border, a close associate said on Sunday, as pressure mounted on the long-standing leader to resign.

During weeks of protests demanding an end to his 20-year rule, Bouteflika has been abandoned by several close allies but there have been no reports of any prominent supporters being detained before Haddad.

Demonstrators in the North African country, an oil and gas producer, want a new generation of leaders to replace a ruling elite comprised of veterans of the independence war against France, ruling party officials, oligarchs, army officers and union leaders.

“Yes, Haddad has been arrested,” his associate told Reuters on condition of anonymity, without elaborating. Several Algerian television stations broadcast news on the detention of Haddad, a media magnate who helped to fund Bouteflika’s election campaigns over the years.

On Saturday, army chief of staff, Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah, renewed a call for the Constitutional Council to rule whether the ailing 82-year-old president is fit to rule, a move provided for under article 102 of the charter.

Bouteflika’s announcement that he would not seek a fifth term but that he would not quit immediately has failed to assuage protesters, who want an overhaul of the North African country’s entire political system.

The protests have been largely peaceful but have put pressure on the army to act.</s>Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has stepped down after 20 years in office and weeks of massive nationwide protests aimed at pushing him out of power.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has stepped down after 20 years in office and weeks of massive nationwide protests aimed at pushing him out of power.

The announcement followed a call from the powerful army chief for the ailing president, 82, to “immediately” take up his proposal to bow out while respecting the constitution.

The official APS news agency said that Bouteflika had notified the Constitutional Council of his decision to end his mandate.

There was no immediate word on who would take over.

Under the constitution, the president of the upper house, the Council of Nations, steps in as interim leader for a maximum of 90 days so that elections can be organised.

Army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah had earlier in the day convened a meeting of the top military hierarchy, making clear that the call for Bouteflika to step down had the backing of the military.

The Defence Ministry communique referred to Bouteflika’s entourage as a “gang” and said it had made “fraud, embezzlement and duplicity its vocation”.

He has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke. His resignation caps six weeks of peaceful protest marches calling for him to make an exit.

It was preceded by calls for him to submit to Article 102 of the Constitution that would declare him unfit for office.

The Defence Ministry statement Tuesday appeared to be a final warning.

Bouteflika came to the presidency after its darkest period, the 1990s Islamic insurgency. After taking power in 1999, he managed to bring back stability to a country devastated by killings and distrust.

As president, age and illness took its toll, and corruption scandals dogged him and associates.

Bouteflika is accused of failing to create an economy that could offer enough jobs, despite the nation’s vast oil and gas wealth.

In a country where secrecy surrounds the leadership, it has never been clear whether Bouteflika was fully in charge or whether the powerful army was pulling the strings.
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.