Algeria

Newsclick editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha discusses what impact the continuing protests in the North African countries of Sudan and Algeria can have on the region.

In the capital city of Algiers alone, about 3,000 protesters reportedly assembled before the main post office to press on with the demand for the ousting of the entire ruling elite.

Abdelkader Bensalah, the speaker of the upper house of parliament, was declared interim president following the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika. The decision was greeted with massive protests as people demanded the dismantling of the entire regime

The strike will also demand the constitution of a transitional government which includes opposition members. Massive demonstrations began a few weeks ago after president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced he would contest another term

The 82 year-old President’s regime had been marked by increasing social inequality and rising unemployment due to the neoliberal economic reforms.

President Bouteflika’s decision to not run for a fifth term, is a result of the mobilization and struggle of the people of Algeria