Algeria's Bouteflika resigns from presidency

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Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced his resignation on Tuesday, weeks before his presidential term expires on April 28.

Bouteflika announced he was standing down in a one-sentence statement carried by state news agency APS, followed by a letter – his primary means of communication since suffering a stroke in 2013 and disappearing from public view.

"I have taken this step because I am keen to put an end to the current bickering," Bouteflika said in the letter. "I have taken the suitable measures needed for the continuity of the nation's institutions during the interim period."

Algeria's Constitutional Council has officially accepted Bouteflika's resignation, state TV reported Wednesday. The council informed parliament "of the declaration of the definitive vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic," the television station announced in a news ticker.

First elected to the presidency in 1999, Bouteflika was re-elected in 2014 for a fourth five-year term.

When Bouteflika announced his decision to seek a fifth term in February, mass protests erupted across Algeria demanding his withdrawal of this decision.

(With inputs from Xinhua, Reuters)

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