reform. we've also heard there was a meeting with the army chief i think that picture might still be on algerian television if we can have just a little quick look at that they've got a still shot there of abilities but a flicker on the right meeting with the army chief general ahmed had salah and the army's position is always so important in situations like this here's some fresh pictures as well of course this coming in direct from algerian television so we don't have any control over what's being shown their abilities but a figure on the right remember we're actually seeing him for the first time in a very long time he has been in hospital in geneva or at least for the last two weeks and only arrived back in algeria's yesterday we got some more pictures coming up for you now no we just lost them as they were looking at different sources coming in from algerian television just trying to keep an eye on them so in the meantime we will go back to our guests who is with us on skype. thank you for

staying with us again so there's a big question now even though all this changes being promoted by the presidency and talk of constitutional change in the prime minister being out in the cabinet reshuffle i guess there's a big question now over who who takes over in the interim and what will they do with all the anger that has been out on the streets. well you can actually chew you to get you some credibility so this announcement has to has to show that it's not another transitional kodak to the algerian army has been pretty important that to thirty forty years well settled that's one thing the used to seek out thank you for that and i'm assuming that the constitution or the new constitution is not really the car of the problem it's much more about how people can reintegrate can get back control of their or their institutions use issues that already exist how we can get

them that's correct it's how we can discuss freely not sure you know there are distribution of the all rents all of these questions are not being targeted to the radical few cabinet who are out here army of the secret service is sitting in the same time and these questions are currently debated within our g. and civil society so objects in the society based on how beyond the mental the of the consolation of the elections or the fact that if your car want to run for the elections are even that in your constitutional legal terms so it's really about who is going to control the transition process and how they are going to negotiate with the people who last year to manage their time and sorry if you take the streets next friday how important is the role of the army here for talking about who takes control quite often in these situations the army does become quite important we've

seen it in other what you might call arab spring countries in the past watch role with the army play where do they sit on everything as it stands right now. well we have to differentiate between military commanders and. some of his one of the most. wealthy sure and general and he has been chosen by which to cut on that specific reason in order to guarantee does a good feel class clown i don't know we will have the next two to do rather well but at the same time there's a difference between gates that and a whole range of new generations within the army and a lot of them actually even into jackson fourteen or one group because i was willing to go to and from a false monday they have shown that where they've been where does that these agreements with that with their with gates rather hang with with the generals who

are leading the army so how do we have seen it with the police during the demonstrations we have seen that the police somehow felt quite close to the most strangest. of these new generations of not all of the. army all the shows are going to have taken leave and hope for a much more transparent transition i can't answer but i hope so. another development which has just come down in the last couple of minutes is this name notre dame but dolly i believe i'm pronouncing that correctly has been announced as algeria's new prime minister notre dame but our it is that name what can you tell us about. well you know again there are it's about disconnect and from what i'm just curious the wizards in the society he people have abducted names are have talked about names like most that time who shows you who is. the leader of

the human understanding human or arrived late. of people problems in the society who have to have a cold during jim for as much as i'm jenny regime for the past twenty years because they have some credibility so as long as you have souls back to the society who have made this unity to the the regime and who have declared what kind of people they want to see living the transition to come in and on the other hand you know you have a dozen hymowitz who seem to follow its own plane in order not to do was to lose control over the transition. well we'll take a little break with you again i'm conscious that you're talking a lot and telling us a lot here and we do thank you for staying with us as the news develops out of algeria but half an hour ago we learned that the algerian president up to lizzie's beautifully was postponing april's elections and was announcing or did announce

that he would not be seeking his fifth term as president in algeria the protests have been going on for weeks now protests in algiers the capital and other parts of the country anger at the fact that an eighty two year old man who has been president for twenty years and who suffered a stroke and twenty thirteen is in a wheelchair currently anger that he would be running for another term as president the anger has not let up the protests have not let up and it would appear at this stage that they have been successful old pictures here of abilities but a figure from twenty seventeen so that's him two years ago not looking in great condition there and among the other developments that we've heard that there is a new prime minister in algeria nudity in but there is an algerian deputy prime minister now and. so that was because the previous prime minister resigned as well there is a reshuffle of the cabinet coming soon with promises of political and economic

reform there has been amazing between the army chief that is general. and the president and as we were discussing with animal before the position of the army always so important to the army seeming to show it was with the people of algeria certainly a couple of days ago they were saying that they have a united view of algeria's future with the people of algeria and now of course the question about who takes over is that a technocrat government that comes in and holds power until those elections happen still a lot of change to come in algeria. but the news right now on this monday is that our deliveries beautifully to will not be seeking a fifth term in office we have got. with us now our political analyst resident scholar at the carnegie middle east center on skype from beirut and we thank you

for coming on al-jazeera to talk of so what's your initial reaction at least the fact that a man who was stubbornly holding on to power as we have seen in the arab world in recent years but has now seemingly conceded defeat. well i have to say i my first reaction was the reaction of a jury and citizens so it was the happiness of course i think that this is the victory of the jury and people who showed an amazing resilience bed who proved to the word that change can happen and can happen peacefully you know when i march with them on march first that i saw their determination and their will to change things but i also saw people who were. who were eager and willing to insist on the peaceful nature of their protest and i think they gave a gene gave too they are beautiful listen of. pacifism to the word that i believe again that this is the victory of the people live in the street it was

worth thinking up to this street that all these fridays and. you know i think again this is the victory of all a jury in people because in the streets i sue you for it's true but i also so as the only people i so senior i so families with fathers you know of holding children on their shoulder so it was really the scream of the of june people so this is the victory of the year in however daria what we have to say is that victory on the streets and again history is teaching us what we've seen in the arab world since two thousand and eleven victory on the streets has to be carefully managed doesn't it and if there is to be victory in the corridors of power in politics there has to be a very clear way forward now so that it doesn't all just go full circle again. yes that's true but again you know algerian people are very realistic about their men

so they know what they can change and what they cannot to they have you know this political maturity that i believe. is really specific to them to their experience to the history of the black but of course what's next and this is the question. and here unfortunately maybe i am a bit less optimistic and i would say that you know there will be a change in the far side of the region with this region that has been going on since the in the farm themselves the country in one thousand and sixty two and that is deeply deeply rooted and its system is very strong is not going of course to these appear. as easily as that i'm reading among the many news wires which have come through in the last year about the new constitution which will apparently be submitted to a national referendum is that a good sign to you that they're not only talking about

a new constitution but they're talking about giving some say over to the people. yeah but again the question is who is going to draft this constitution is that this same people who has been in the corridor of power for all these years unfortunately i believe the question is yes so this time the people needs to you know to be part of this of this new era if i may say if any as a matter of fact so the question remains who is going to replace president would live on what is that and then that they have with their this will appease the judean citizen or no these are also you know question that we will have to do to wait before answering we we need to wait the next upcoming tell you just stay there for me for one moment if you don't mind i want to remind people of course of the breaking news this hour that. lizzie's buttafuoco the president of algeria has

announced that elections will be postponed and he won't be running in the minutes a nice opportunity to bring a national hope are in the studio zero correspondent you've covered this you've been on a talking about it a lot in the last few days just initial reactions first of all it's a major concession to the. syrian people and to the opposition as is the man who. for almost twenty years has been a charisma arctic leader for almost thirty years turns a chapter but it's not the end of his only the beginning perhaps is because this is someone who has been just when he made the announcement that he is not going to see a fifth pointed in your government he's. not taking over the are the ones who will lead. during the election now we have to wait and see whether the opposition is going to say. it's fine because most of its leaders have decided not to take part

in the election we'll have to see their reaction if they decide tomorrow that's we're going to go for the for the election that would raise the hopes among the people but i have to say you will see some divided mixed reactions tonight about this announcement yes i'm glad it was has been incapacitated since two thousand and thirteen is not going to run for a fifth term however there is stablished when he has created will definitely stay in power i think he's trying to pave the way all those behind him for his own political party which is the national. liberation front to look for alternative candidate is going to run for the election i'm just saying because i saw the name noted. named as the new prime minister very quickly i'm being told that was actually he's obviously the interior minister exactly so that immediately tells you and his deputy is the. is the former minister of foreign

affairs and a top adviser to. think that. people with i think the general sentiment among people people now the algerians watching television of this particular extraordinary moment i have to say in the area were waiting for the political establishment to reach out to the opposition in particular and say. just sort of goodwill let's form a government of national unity that would give really confidence to everyone you know what this could be a general went. moment of reconciliation of. a new era new election that could pave the way for the dramatic transformation of the country because. the people took to the streets over the last few weeks they were not only against. it to go for a fifth term they were against the establishment they were mismanagement of public funds they were a the marginalization of the u.s.

and they were saying basically we need all of that to choose is is this an indication that we're going to see a dramatic transformation algeria i think we have to wait out of your skin. let's talk about some of the. influence influences i guess and say that might have influenced this decision first one of the army because i was saying this to a previous case you always have to watch which side the army falls in these situations and there was that sort of message the other day of we and the jury and people have a united view on the future that was sort of a bit of yes we are indeed the algerian army is the most organized most powerful establishment in the country. in on to it has learnt massive lessons from two occasions ninety sixty five the interfere of the last a coup against a democratically elected president been and the first president of algeria after the into balance and ever since they shaved the country ninety ninety one when the

islamist won the elections landslide victory they canceled the prague little process and appointed an your council which has divided the algerians i think from those two occasions they've learnt a lesson which is basically trying to be vocal sia's the army chief over the last few days statements saying to their people become fall and who want against any further destabilization of the country it backfired it was taken by the people as an act of intimidation or the thousands of protesters taken to the streets across the country ever since we haven't heard from the top military commander it could be an indication that the army will definitely have to continue to monitor the situation on the ground and see what happens i think now everyone in algeria is looking for what would be the next step for the protesters but also for the opposition ok another point of influence is the judiciary i think it was just today there was news that a thousand judges or thereabouts were saying we want monitor these elections we

want to oversee these elections if he runs again what kind of pressure to bear on the pressure will continue and there is an event which is taking place on in two days from now which is the announcement by the by the this would have a knock on effect on everything because we were expecting the constitutional council on the theme thirteenth of march to announce the final list of the candidates illiberal to run for the president's election now many people are saying that basically some of the people who were banned from running for the presidential election was a politically motivated decision it was not a fair decision people like to see in the gas for example a charismatic young. activist who was born. in france and because of his birth in france he was denied the right to run for the election and the people say if you really want fair transparent elections in a everyone should be given the right to submit.

and go for election so i think what we're going to see starting from to model is if is. used transformation is but also the need to give strong indications of the algerian people that this is going to be a genuine change in the country let's check in with our guest as well who is on the line on the skype line from beirut that is dahlia found them back a political analyst and resident scholar at the carnegie middle east center hope you could hear what hashem and i were talking about there anything you want to add particularly about the next steps that need to be taken. well i would add to that you know again we need to wait the next day is what will happen but even if this is a beautiful victory for the algerian people and the jester was there i do not believe that the entire regime and its system is going to collapse and you know again this is a regime that is composed by different strata and circles of power you have you

know f.l.n. up a chicken you have the bureaucracy you have the political military leadership and you have the business tycoons and all these people who have entered twenty relationship and what segment of these relationships is exactly the political and economic interests and they are high. the deep state is really something to take into consideration when thinking about the future in algeria so again we might see changes but the question remains whether this state is going to disappear i don't think so but also of the condit to that we might see you know we need to keep in mind that these are candidate who are fuel called that of the system and who are in a way or another connected to the region. what about the people on the street you are talking about that before and how obviously happy they are

the. persistence that they have shown and the victory that they have won today but they need to be i would suspect patient as well because what you and hash have been have been talking about is some big change which could happen but big change can take a while and it can be politically difficult and painful sometimes. exactly you know they are painful or they are difficult also it is that very hard you know you get treated with sorry up an entire region human system that has been there since the independence of the country in one thousand sixty two but again as much as the algerians are learning from their mistakes as much as the military and the establishment is learning from its mistakes so i believe that you know change will come step by step a better again when i talk to a jury and on the street they are very realistic about what they want and what they can change so reforms will take time but change will come i think

slowly let us not to be too maybe confident or too optimistic about where they're this entire year you know with their this is really a new era for algeria better again this is a beautiful victory and we need to see the upcoming weeks and to wait to see whether the changes are going to be real because you know look at the end of the day and we've seen it today it is one they voted one devoted if i may say you know what member of the establishment that is replaced by another devoted one. let me tell you actually hashem is well some of the nuance i'm getting through some translations from the excuse me the statement that it's come out from the presidency. is going through a sensitive historical moment i understand i'm getting this is attributed to the president here i understand what move these large masses and i should not forget to praise the peaceful nature of the people's movement my health and age can only

allow me to do my last judy towards the algerian people and that is to set the foundation for a new republic so he sounds very sort of hashem very gracious in the way saying this is i'm stepping aside to do this for my people but as you've been pointing out as actually what do you tell us first of all who we're seeing here on screen we're seeing this is a. liberal him a former diplomat this is over here the outgoing. and then before that we saw the who was the army chief this is the new prime minister not of them but we are worse. in two minutes i think the way they are with those pictures. really very important first of all i think the establishment wants to tell the people but you know what the man although he's been ill seeking treatment in switzerland but his still able to run the country although he made the decision that he's going to be the end of his political career now his own

allies. particular over so this is all these people who are lining up to come and see how. he was referring to him is the deep state the existing power base is true it's true because it is you know the the f.l.n. . the national front for liberation is seen by the algerian as the political party that fought for independence the war of independence and it has a strong legitimacy among although its popularity has. bleakly been waned over the last few years now what you see is independent politicians taking over different political parties and particularly the opposition which is now gaining more momentum problems with a serious opposition compared to other north african countries its opposition has been fragmented over the years if you can come up with a unified candidate in the coming weeks is chances to win the elections we didn't

really hear us but if decide to run on separate platforms i don't see them winning the elections absolutely no way they can do it because the political establishment remains really powerful and entrenched on syria just actually i'm keeping half an eye on twitter here as well because it's huge online as well and someone here said my algerian brothers need to watch out for the bait and switch all men might try to rule from the background behind a powerless proxy and when you saw those pictures we were looking at of his people lining up of course of course i mean i mean. the man who runs the country widely seen by many commentators as the one who is now the most powerful man in is the brother of the president side which is his top advisor. came to power in one thousand nine hundred ninety and his widely seen as a man who is trying to pull the strings from behind closed doors to orchestrate everything that we've seen over the last few days it's quite obvious i mean from the choreography of what we've seen over the last few hours in the capital that

this could be the last attempt by the establishment to maintain its control over power in algeria because they are faced with two unprecedented things here in the country first of all an pro-democracy movement which is building up momentum across the country and the two massive discontent particular among the opposition they are saying that will these elections the upcoming elections. a fiasco and i think they have got the masses and they are trying to work out some bliss of a new democratic change in the country has shown let's pause for a moment and i'll be back with you in a moment but i do just want to run through a little bit of background on the beautiful you can now that he is now or has announced that he won't be running for another term as president some call him a savior some call him and opportunist certainly no stranger to controversy he was the elected president of the people's democratic republic of algeria back in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine currently eighty two years old the fifth and

longest serving longest serving head of state of. as hashem has been telling us he's been credited with ending the bloody civil war that claimed the lives of around two hundred thousand dollars ariens throughout the ninety's of course if you go back to two thousand and eleven when the arab spring toppled several of his neighbors beautifully it was able to use the vast oil wealth of the country to remain in power it seemed he was ready to step down by two thousand and twelve telling supporters his generation was quite finished but he ran again and he won in twenty fourteen even though again as hashem reminded us he had a stroke the year before twenty thirteen that all changed one month ago when he announced his plans to run for a fifth term and we have seen those hundreds of thousands of algerians protest and calling on him to withdraw while the algerian presidency has released a statement with beautifully saying quote there is no fifth term i've never intended to run for it it's interesting my health and age can only allow me to do

my last tuesday towards the algerian people to set a foundation for a new republic the statement also went on to say that the country is going through a sensitive historical moment the government understands what has moved these large masses for protests. and the statement went on to call the protests a people's movement praising their peaceful nature of the matches so let's take a look back at buddha figures twenty eight year old this report here from hashem. algeria's longest serving president of the law as he's beautifully will likely be remembered for anding the civil war that lasted ten years and killed hundreds of thousands of people would have won praise for restoring stability that lead to an economic boom and major development projects across the country. he also

managed to hold the country together during the arab spring there were protests in january two thousand and eleven over poverty and unemployment the government responded by creating thousands of small business opportunities with generous incentives to young entrepreneurs reducing food prices and anding a decades old state of emergency despite this riots can tenure a sign that not everyone was happy with how beautifully a car ran algeria what a flick eyes considered a national hero by his supporters he fought on the battlefield during a war of independence from france and then served as foreign minister until nine hundred seventy nine in the early one nine hundred eighty s. he was accused of corruption and went on

a self-imposed exile the charges were later dropped and of the end of the civil war in the late one nine hundred ninety s. he won an election with the backing of the military they opposition said the vote was rigged. critics accused him of clinging to power and cracking down on his opposition during his second term in office he managed to change the constitution to allow him to run for an unlimited number of terms so with mounting controversy and popular unease among his opponents but of one a third election in two thousand and nine and afford. in two thousand and fourteen by the time he won the two thousand and fourteen election he was frail and rarely seen in public and some said he was no longer fit to govern once the leaders considered him an important ally in the fight against armed groups in north africa . had

a zero tolerance towards those draw. and the heavy handedness linked to that approach sometimes cost civilian lives in two thousand and thirteen thirty foreign workers including western nationals were killed when beautifully ordered the army to storm a gas plant in the algerian does the aim was to rescue hundreds of hostages held by an armed group affiliated with al qaida but critics believed could have saved lives had hiney goshi aided a safe exit for the civilians or planned his counter attack more carefully during his last years in power he sacked many of his top army generals in a push to curb their influence beautifully i had a number of health concerns in recent years has suffered a ministroke other beginning of two thousand and thirteen and was in

a french hospital for three months after lizzie's as opponents say his legacy was one of stagnation while his supporters insist he brought much needed stability to algeria. so a great background report there from him who will be speaking to again shortly just telling you about the last twenty years under of the lizzie's beautifully here and what has been like and really what's given rise to these protests in the last month which have now resulted in him announcing the elections will be postponed and that he won't be running again going to talk to. again political analyst resident scholar at the carnegie middle east center thank you for staying with us you've been telling us a lot about the protests on the street about as being a great victory for the people particularly for the young people about syria who have spearheaded these protests do they have someone or a group amongst them do you think who can stand out now because you have both been

talking about this deep state is entrenched alder deep state presumably what algeria will be looking for a what the protesters will be looking for is an injection of youth. yes true yes exactly but one talking soldier in youth especially during the march today. in which i took. part in february twenty sixth you know they they didn't really have a clear idea about what they wanted but they knew what they didn't want and they didn't want this rift or they didn't want a president but they were you know now very conscious and cognizant if i may say about achievement of president bush many for instance told me that you know he has been you know the architect if i may say the architect of peace and reconciliation in algeria he brought about also and reinvigorated julius foreign policy and

many other julian's are grateful to him for for that better that they were disappointed about his incapacity to let go and just to to leave as we say in french from home but if i may say. do they have somebody in mind when you know when i ask them for instance about that are nearly there the their answer was no yes there was no we don't want to have because he is also somebody coming from the military and the hands from the system when i ask them about somebody like that she has i mean the the the feeling of multitudes of that he was somebody who was a bit you know there was you know. something hidden about him and he wasn't really taken seriously but do they have sympathy for him because.