UPDATE - Algerians demonstrate against presidency election delay

ADDS DETAIL, REMARKS BY RULING PARTY LEADER

By Hassan Jebrel and Abdul Razak bin Abdullah

ALGIERS (AA) - Algerians staged large demonstrations in several parts of the country on Friday to protest President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s decision this week to postpone presidential elections.

On Monday, following weeks of popular protests, Bouteflika announced that presidential elections -- originally slated for April 18 -- would be postponed to a later date, yet to be decided.

The 82-year-old leader also announced his decision to refrain from contesting the poll, saying the move reflected “the will of the people”.

Bouteflika further vowed to form a new government and convene a conference devoted to “national dialogue”.

The opposition, however, has cried foul, seeing the move as a surreptitious attempt by the ruling National Liberation Front (NLF) to prolong Bouteflika’s fourth term in office.

Demonstrations in capital Algiers, which brought traffic to a standstill on Friday, were attended by hundreds of thousands of protesters, who chanted against Bouteflika and against “foreign interference” in Algeria’s domestic affairs.

Protesters also condemned French President Emmanuel Macron, who on Tuesday hailed Bouteflika’s decision not to stand for a fifth term and called for a “transitional period of reasonable duration”.

For the third week in a row, the Algerian authorities suspended mass transport in and around Algiers in hopes of damping down Friday’s protests.

Speaking to Algeria’s Al-Nahar television channel, which is known to be close to the ruling regime, leading NLF member Hussein Khaldoun surprised listeners Friday when he suggested that the Bouteflika era had “come to an end”.

“The current phase [i.e., that of Bouteflika] has come to an end,” he said. “Now is the time to look forward.”

Last month, the NLF nominated Bouteflika, who has ruled Algeria since 1999, to run for a fifth term in office, sparking mass demonstrations.

Earlier this week, however, Bouteflika abruptly postponed the election -- indefinitely -- and formally withdrew his candidacy.