UPDATE-Algeria's president withdraws from ballot, delays poll

UPDATES WITH FURTHER DETAILS; ADDS BACKGROUND

By Abdul Razak bin Abdullah

ALGIERS (AA) - Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika postponed the April presidential election on Monday and withdrew his candidacy, according to the state-run news agency.

Bouteflika’s announcement came amid mass protests against his nomination to seek a fifth term as president in the elections previously slated for April 18, Algeria Press Service said.

Bouteflika also received Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia in Algiers on Monday and Ouyahia “tendered his resignation to him,” according to the same source.

In a cabinet reshuffle, Bouteflika appointed Noureddine Bedoui, previously serving interior minister, as new prime minister.

Meanwhile, Ramtane Lamamra was appointed as deputy prime minister, the state-run agency reported.

Bouteflika also decided to launch a dialogue that includes various segments of the Algerian society with the aim of reaching a formula for a new constitution that will be referred to a popular referendum.

Last month, Algeria’s ruling National Liberation Front nominated Bouteflika -- who has ruled Algeria since 1999 -- to run for a fifth term in office.

Since then, for the third consecutive week, thousands of Algerians in different parts of the country, including the capital Algiers, took to the streets to protest Bouteflika’s bid to secure a fifth term in power.

Opposition figures have repeatedly urged the aging president, who in 2013 was treated for a blood clot in the brain, to refrain from contesting the election.