Algeria’s army chief Ahmed Gaid Salah is walking on a tightrope. As the country’s most powerful man he has lent support to the now four-month-long protest movement. But he has also made clear he wants to ensure a higher degree of continuity than many protestors surely have in mind.
On 2 June the constitutional court cancelled elections scheduled for 4 July, casting Algeria deeper into unknown territory (MEES, 7 June). In doing so, it indefinitely extended unpopular interim president Abdelkader Bensalah’s original 90-day term and tasked him with organizing elections down the line. (CONTINUED - 396 WORDS)
