“We want a President who understands what we want,” 25-year old Bouzid Abdoun, an engineer at state-owned energy concern Sonelgaz, toldBouteflika ended 20 years in power on Tuesday after a final nudge by the military following six weeks of protests calling for democratic reforms after almost 60 years of monolithic rule by veterans of the 1954-62 independence war against France.extraordinarily in the hands of a caretaker government until elections in three months and with no successor in sight.
“The Algerian people have just closed one of the darkest chapters in the history of our country,” he said in a statement, calling the protest a “peaceful popular revolution” Bouteflika’s exit is seen only as a first gesture for young Algerians demanding jobs in a country where one in every four under the age of 30 is unemployed in a highly statist, undiversified economy dependent on oil and gas exports.
Protests were initially ignited by Bouteflika’s plan to seek a fifth mandate in elections this month, since postponed, but the agenda broadened to calls for root-and-branch change. “Definitely the top priority is to address economic issues to diversify away from oil and gas revenues,” said one analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Earlier this week, in a sign of Bouteflika’s imminent political demise, authorities seized the passports of a dozen politically connected businessmen under investigation for alleged corruption. One of them, Bouteflika loyalist Ali Haddad, has been taken into custody, Ennahar TV reported on Wednesday.
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