The Loop
By Randa Darwish
Tens of thousands of Algerians have been taking to streets in different cities across the country protesting the 81-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s decision to run for a fifth term.
The president, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public during the past five years after he had a stroke in 2013, has announced last week his intention to run for the fifth term and sparked endless waves of anger and frustration among Algerians.
It led them to streets to demand his resignation with banners reading “No Fifth Term” and “I am Algerian and I am against it”. Algerian activists, public figures in addition to the opposition party supported the protests and denounced his announcement to run for elections.
Campaigns “Let Him Rest”, “لا للعهدة الخامسة” [No for the fifth term] and “#non_au_5eme_mandat” were launched on social media where Algerians supported the protests and urged the president to resign questioning his abilities to rule the country especially as he has been suffering health issues for the past years.
Bouteflika probably thought he had survived the 2011 wave of Arab Spring protests, after Tunisia and Libya ousted their long-ruling leaders that year.
Amid poor coverage from local media outlets in Algeria, Algerians went to the internet to share photos and videos from protests which appear to be rapidly increasing until Bouteflika leaves or resigns.
