Algeria's Bouteflika resigns after weeks of protests

ALGIERS- Agence France-Presse

Algeria's ailing leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika submitted his resignation with immediate effect, state media said on April 2, ceding power in the face of massive street protests after two decades at the helm.

Car horns sounded on the streets before crowds of flag-waving people emerged from their homes and converged in the center of the capital Algiers to celebrate.

Bouteflika "officially advised the Constitutional Council of the end of his term of office as President of the Republic,” state television reported.

"I have the honor to formally notify you of my decision to terminate my term of office as President of the Republic from today, Tuesday," state news agency APS quoted his resignation letter as saying.

"This decision which I take in my soul and conscience is destined to contribute to the appeasement of the hearts and minds of my compatriots, to allow them to take Algeria towards a better future to which they legitimately aspire," it added.

Footage showed Bouteflika, dressed in a beige gandoura (North African tunic) and sitting in his wheelchair, handing his resignation letter to the head of the Constitutional Council, Tayeb Belaiz.

Long accused of clinging to power, the veteran leader faced mounting pressure to step down after his decision to seek a fifth term despite rarely being seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.

The 82-year-old said last month he would pull out of the bid for another term, and his office said he would resign before his mandate expires at the end of the month.

The moves failed to satisfy protesters who feared a ploy to extend his rule and the armed forces chief called for him to leave power.

The announcement of his resignation sparked jubilation in the capital.

Youths cheered and waved the Algerian national flag at Grande Post square, the epicenter of the protest against his rule in downtown Algiers.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Bouteflika's decision to step down marked the turning of "an important page in the history of Algeria.”