Algeria: The Head Of The Constitutional Council, Tayeb Belaiz, Steps Down

The President of the Constitutional Council, Tayeb Belaiz, on Tuesday tendered his resignation to the interim Head of State, Abdelkader Bensalah, announced the Council in a statement.
“The President of the Constitutional Council, Tayeb Belaiz, informed the members of the Council, at a meeting held on Tuesday, April 16, 2019, that he had submitted to the Head of State his resignation from the position of President of the Constitutional Council, which he has held since the swearing-in ceremony on 21st of February 2019,” the Council stressed in a statement.
In his letter of resignation to the interim Head of State, “Mr. Belaiz expressed his wish that God Almighty will protect Algeria and the valiant Algerian people from any evil”, the Council added.
A magistrate, Tayeb Belaïz was appointed to the National Commission for Justice Reform chaired then by Professor Mohand Issad. The Commission’s final recommendations were eventually put in the drawers, as Bouteflika couldn’t, of course, be accommodated by an independent judiciary.
In 2002, Belaïz was awarded the post of Minister of Employment and National Solidarity, before taking over the following year the sovereign justice and keeper of the seals portfolio.
Belaiz had been kept until September 2013 when Bouteflika, who then suffered a stroke, was thinking of a fourth term despite his severe disease.
He then placed his “protégé” at the head of the Ministry of the Interior, the contracting authority for the elections. Once the mission was accomplished, Tayeb Belaiz was assigned to the “Holy of Holies” as an advisor to the Presidency with the title of Minister of State.
He then took in charge the cabinet of the Presidency when Ahmed Ouyahia took over the helm of the government.
By reappointing him to the Constitutional Council just two months ago, former President Bouteflika wanted to protect himself against a risk: the recognition of the vacancy of power, which is the sole responsibility of the guardians of laws, who meet only at his own initiative.
At that time, Bouteflika had not suspected that a huge popular wave would rise from the depths of the Algerian society and submerge him.
With the President gone, Tayeb Belaïz is one of the “3Bs” whose street asks for the head. He won’t have survived long. Did he give in to pressure from Major General Gaid-Salah, who pledged to reopen old corruption cases?
The Army Chief of Staff referred in particular to the Khalifa corruption case, where the name of Belaïz was mentioned in connection with the then Koléa-based agency. But this “faithful” of the regime was never summoned to appear before justice. Not even as a witness.
His name was also mentioned in connection with a drug smuggling affair supposed to involve his son. Tayeb Belaïz had denied the charge on the pretext of an unfortunate homonymy.