A new group of political leaders and opposition figures in Algeria called on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to step down at the end of his term in late April. This coincides with the continuation of demonstrations supporting the popular movement and rejecting the extension of the fourth mandate with several Algerian states.
The National Coordination for Change, in a statement, urged the Algerian government to resign, dissolve the People's Assembly and the nation and form a "national salvation government" charged with running the state, which it appointed as a collective presidency.
It called for a transitional phase enabling the people to realize their national project and for the collective presidency to be composed of honest national figures who undertake not to remain in power after the transitional period.
The coordination also called on the Algerian army and the security services to ensure their constitutional duties without interfering in the political choices of the people.
And demanded the launch of a comprehensive national dialogue to identify the practical aspects of the amendment of the Constitution, and the organization of elections in the period after the transition.
The statement coincides with the continuation of demonstrations against the regime and supporting the popular movement in several states, where the capital Algiers witnessed demonstrations and stops and marches rejecting the decisions of President Bouteflika, including postponement of the elections.
In the city of Chlef, demonstrators chanted slogans describing the president's decisions as unconstitutional. They also demanded the departure of the symbols of the regime, and accused the authorities of not paying attention to the voices of millions of people.
A march was also held in the town of Bouira in eastern Algeria in support of the movement of the street. The march was organized by a number of imams who announced during the march their joining the movement demanding the change of the regime and its symbols.
Doctors in Algiers organized a march that reached the "First May" square, denouncing the decisions of the Algerian president.
It is noteworthy that Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika had mentioned yesterday - in a letter on the occasion of Algeria's celebration of "Victory Day" - that the country is about to change its system of governance by the national symposium of the university, stressing that this symposium will be held in the near future with the participation of all parties .
Algerian army chief of staff Lieutenant-General Ahmed Kayed Saleh, who also serves as defense minister, pledged that the army would always be "the fortified fortress of the people and the nation in all circumstances," praising the "national and cultural sense" of the demonstrators.
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ramtan Lamamra said during a press conference held by his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow today that a number of the Algerian people have come out calling for fundamental changes and that the state has responded to their appeal and offered all parties to engage in a comprehensive national dialogue. His country's opposition to any external interference in Algerian internal affairs.