Who rules Algeria instead of Bouteflika?

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s absence due to health problems raised many questions among national public opinion about who rules the country.

Former member of the Constitutional Council Amar Rekhila believes that Bouteflika’s health state is not considered as an absence according to the law. Because of that, the State is ruled by him.

“As a former member at the Constitutional Council, this institution still sees things as before the announcement of the president’s illness,” he told Echorouk.

“Bouteflika now exercises all his constitutional prerogatives,” he added.

The president assigned president of the Council of the Nation Abdelkader Bensaleh to represent him at the 23^rd World Economic Forum about Africa and the Algerian agriculture minister Rachid Benaissa at the Pan African Agency of the Great Green Wall.

Former information minister Abdelaziz Rehabi said Bouteflika’s absence caused emptiness in all the State’s institutions as he took all the prerogatives.

“The president’s absence created new responsibilities to the military institution to protect national security threatened by this institutional emptiness,” he added.

He believes that Algeria is not ruled by institutions. “If institutions ruled Algeria, we would not have experienced Sonatrach’s scandals. The National Council of Energy has been frozen for 14 years and Parliament does not keep watch on the government. Justice usually is submitted to political power.”

Doctor Ahmed Adhimi, political sciences and international relations professor at the University of Algiers said no one knows who rules Algeria. “President Bouteflika took all the prerogatives and his absence caused big emptiness. Because of that, no one knows who rules Algeria now.”