Thousands of people protested in Algiers on Friday, opposing early legislative elections declared the day before, as the resurgent Hirak pro-democracy movement continues to hold weekly rallies. Protesters defied a coronavirus-related ban on demonstrations by rallying from various parts of the capital and converging on the central post office, the Hirak movement’s emblematic rallying point.
After dissolving parliament last month, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune released a decree on Thursday setting June 12 as the date for early legislative elections. In February 2019, the Hirak movement erupted in defiance of then-President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s offer for a fifth term in office.
Weeks later, the ailing strongman was forced to resign, but the protests persisted, demanding a full reform of the ruling regime in place since Algeria’s independence from France in 1962. The Hirak has resumed weekly Friday marches, which had been suspended for nearly a year due to the pandemic, after its second anniversary on February 22.
People in other parts of the world, such as northwestern Oran, central Tizi Ouzou, and eastern Annaba, also took to the streets. Protesters were detained in Tizi Ouzou, according to the CNLD prisoners’ rights organization, which did not provide further information. Tebboune, who served as Bouteflika’s prime minister and was elected in a widely boycotted presidential election in December 2019, has reached out to the protest movement while still attempting to neutralize it.
Last month, he declared pardons for hundreds of incarcerated pro-democracy activists, including many famous figures, as a sign of good faith. Tebboune has promised that the June elections would be free of corruption and that “young people will be able to participate in parliament.”
A constitutional referendum in November saw record-low participation.
Data Source: Africa News
