Algeria’s veteran President Abdelaziz Bouteflika informed the Constitutional Council that he is resigning in a move that is to take effect on Tuesday, state television said.
Bouteflika “officially advised the Constitutional Council of the end of his term of office as President of the Republic” from Tuesday, said a news ticker on the television, shortly after the army chief demanded the immediate launch of impeachment proceedings against the protest-hit leader.
The report came hours after armed forces chief Ahmed Gaid Salah demanded the immediate launch of impeachment proceedings against Bouteflika as the military dismissed an announcement he would resign before his mandate expires at the end of the month.
In power for two decades, Bouteflika has come under mounting pressure to step down since his decision to seek a fifth term despite rarely being seen in public after suffering a stroke in 2013.
The 82-year-old, who uses a wheelchair, said last month he would pull out of the bid for another term, and on Monday his office said he would resign before his mandate expires on April 28.
The moves failed to quell public ire, with hundreds of students taking to the streets again earlier on Tuesday.
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The future of Algeria is up to its people, the United States said Tuesday, after veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned under pressure from the military.
“Questions about how to navigate this transition in Algeria, that is for the Algerian people to decide,” State Department spokesman Robert Palladino told reporters.
