ZCZC
BFF-40
ALGERIA-POLITICS-PRESIDENT
Algeria MPs elect first new president in 20 years: state TV
ALGIERS, April 9, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Lawmakers named the speaker of the
upper house as Algeria’s first new president in two decades Tuesday, state
television reported, after the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika following
mass protests.
The election of Abdelkader Bensalah as interim president follows
constitutional rules but goes against the demands of demonstrators, who have
pushed for him and other top politicians to stand down.
“I want to work towards fulfilling the interests of the people,” Bensalah
told parliament on taking up the 90-day interim presidency.
“It’s a great responsibility that the constitution demands of me.”
Opposition parties refused to back Bensalah’s election and boycotted the
session, as hundreds of students protested against him in Algiers.
“Resign Bensalah!” they chanted outside the main post office, which has
become the focal point of weeks of mass protests in the capital.
Ahead of the parliamentary session, an editorial in pro-government daily El
Moudjahid on Tuesday suggested Bensalah should step aside from the
presidential post.
He is not only “not tolerated by the citizen movement, which demands his
immediate departure, but also by the opposition” and various political groups
in both houses of parliament, the newspaper said.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1708 hrs