Algeria’s chief of military staff has called for a constitutional move that would end President Abdel Aziz Bouteflika’s rule before his term officially ends.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah said on Tuesday that the best way to end a nationwide crisis that has engulfed the country was for the parliament to declare the ailing Bouteflika — who has ruled Algeria for two decades — unfit for office and remove him under Article 102 of the Algerian Constitution.
“It is necessary, even imperative, to adopt a solution to get out of the crisis that responds to the legitimate demands of the Algerian people and that guarantees the respect of the provisions of the constitution and safeguards the sovereignty of the state,” said Salah
That solution, he said, was in the implementation of Article 102.
Article 102 of the Algerian Constitution stipulates that in case of the president’s inability to perform his duties due to illness, the head of the national assembly take over as “interim president” until new a election is held. That decision has to be approved by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the parliament.