Algeria: Lakhdar Brahimi, Protesters to Plan Country’s Future after Bouteflika

By Staff, Agencies

A veteran Algerian diplomat and protest groups will join a conference planning the country’s future after President Abdelaziz Bouteflika yielded to mass demonstrations and agreed not to run again, a government source said on Tuesday.

Lakhdar Brahimi, a former foreign minister and UN special envoy, is expected to chair the conference, the source told Reuters.

The conference will oversee the transition, draft a new constitution and set the date for elections.

Bouteflika, 82, abandoned his bid for a fifth term in power on Monday, bowing to weeks of rallies against his 20-year rule by people demanding a new era of politics in a country dominated by an old guard.

Crowds celebrated late into Monday night and were back on the streets of central Algiers on Tuesday chanting: “We want this system to go”.

After meeting Bouteflika on Monday, Brahimi praised protesters for acting responsibly, saying on state television that it was necessary to “turn this crisis into a constructive process”.