Hundreds of students gather in central Algiers to protest Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's decision to seek a fifth term, Tuesday, March 6, 2019. Algerian students are gathering for new protests and are calling for a general strike if he doesn't meet their demands this week. The public anger in Algeria morphed into street protests as the country's ailing president confirmed his candidacy for the fifth consecutive term on Sunday.
After announcing his candidacy, Algerians foresaw their future in the hands of a leader who's lost the ability to govern. To turn his decision around, tens of thousands of Algerians from almost all of the 48 provinces took to the streets, asking Bouteflika to step down. In the letter, the embattled Algerian ruler also said that he's committed to ensure his "succession under undeniable conditions of serenity, freedom and transparency," promising to form a national conference that would be tasked with setting the date for the presidential election.