After growing protests, Algeria"s President Bouteflika has
withdrawn his name from the ballot paper and postponed elections scheduled for April 2019, as reported by the BBC News on 11 March 2019. Bouteflika, aged 82, has ruled the country for 20 years but has not attended any public event since he had a stroke in 2013.
"This is an unusual step for an Arab leader", says Michael Bosch, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, "but it seems Bouteflika had to announce his withdrawal after judges, religious leaders and military staff publicly sided with the protesters. However, it"s questionable whether the president has really changed his mind or whether his withdrawal is just being used to stop the protests. The elections have been postponed without setting a new date and time will tell if those in power really want change."
Michael Bosch continues: "More than two-thirds of the population is under 30 years of age and many of the demonstrators are students. The security services have already arrested hundreds of protesters, and their numbers are growing. The government made a rather desperate move and
ordered the university Spring holidays to start eleven days earlier than usual (BBC News, 9 March 2019), hoping that the students would stop the demonstrations and return to their (rural) family homes. But the government cannot keep on ignoring the concerns of these millions of young Algerians. Most Algerians have internet access and know what is happening outside the country, for instance in neighboring Tunisia where free elections have been held since 2014. The "˜Arab Spring" of 2011 might not have led to any changes in Algeria, but the younger generation can sense how the ruling elite is now afraid of them."
Michael Bosch adds: "So far the security forces have not used excessive force to quell the protests and there is hope that the government will now proceed to hold fair elections without leaving Bouteflika unconstitutionally in office. The danger is that Islamist parties will gain power, but Algeria"s growing churches are still hopeful that the country can develop into a real democracy with more freedom. The church has been under severe pressure from the government in 2018. A real mindset change could make a huge difference for the thousands of Algerian Christians, most of whom are originally from a Muslim background."
