Political earthquake in Algeria

[Lechasseur]

There were major protests in Algeria during the Arab Spring so I think it isn't fair to say that the Arab Spring waved omitted Algeria (unlike some other places where it really did pass as a ripple like the Gulf states other than Bahrain, or Jordan or Morocco), but Bouteflika held on.

I think he held on mainly due to the fact that just 10-15 years earlier Algeria was in the middle of a civil war, and people didn't want to take the risk of that happening again.

[Lechasseur]

It's even more interesting given the original Arab Spring wave largely omitted Algeria. I believe we've have major protests in Sudan occurring as well.

Arab Spring 2.0

We can only hope Algeria and Sudan fare better than their neighbors.  Tunisia is the only country that actually made it out of the original Arab Spring as a functioning democracy.  Everybody else....

Yeah Tunisia was the only country whose regime changed for the better as a result of the Arab Spring.

[Lechasseur]

Ruling FLN and Army sides with the protestors

Lieutenant General Ahmed Gaed Salah said that a month of demonstrations had been “marked by the deeds of noble aims and pure intentions, through which the Algerian people has clearly expressed its values ​​and principles of sincere and dedicated work to Allah and the motherland”.

The comments, made on Tuesday during a tour of a military district and carried by Algerian media on Wednesday, were the clearest signal yet that the army was distancing itself from the ailing Bouteflika, in power for 20 years.

The ruling National Liberation Front party, known by its French acronym FLN, also sided with the protesters after a meeting of its top officials.

“FLN fully supports the popular protest movement,” the APS state news agency quoted FLN leader Moad Bouchared as saying.

The party also called for negotiations to ensure stability in Algeria, a major oil and gas producer.

The news is surprising ,to say the least. I would have expected Bouteflika to have more control over his Army and Party to circumvent any challenge at the worst of times. Seems like the Army understands that ending up like Syria is not a good option. The question now is will Algeria transition into a democracy like Tunisia, or will the Army put their guy on top like Zimbabwe.

The Army has already got their guy on top. The fact that he is not quite "there'' should be telling though. Bouteflika is litterally there to ensure the factions in the Army don't squabble.

Exactly. Algeria is comparable to Egypt in the sense that the Army rules the country, and not the government that controls the Army. My understanding is even with Bouteflika deciding not to run again, it's because the army asked him not to in order to avoid civil unrest, and I think delaying the elections is a means to buy time for the different factions of the army to find a candidate they can all agree on and accept to replace Bouteflika.