Algeria’s protests persist, despite Bouteflika’s resignation

Algerians have once again taken to the streets to demand an overhaul of the political system after their pro-democracy movement forced President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign earlier this week after 20 years in power.

Tens of thousands of people massed in the capital, Algiers, and marched towards the central post office, a symbol of the peaceful widespread protests that began on February 22 in response to 82-year-old Bouteflika’s bid to seek a fifth term in now-cancelled elections, earlier scheduled for April 18.

Security was higher than usual, with roadblocks preventing buses of protesters from entering the city. One group of demonstrators from the Kabylie region east of Algiers walked 20km after its bus was stopped at a roadblock.

It was the seventh straight Friday of protests against a leadership the demonstrators perceive as corrupt and repressive but the first since the ailing Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday under pressure from protesters and the powerful army.