Two Down in just Two Weeks…Who Is Next? The current political wave sweeping through the African continent has swept away Sudan’s long serving president Omar al-Bashir who has since been reported to have step down following immense pressure from protestors. In a space of one week, two African presidents have been forced to step down […]
Two Down in just Two Weeks…Who Is Next?
The current political wave sweeping through the African continent has swept away Sudan’s long serving president Omar al-Bashir who has since been reported to have step down following immense pressure from protestors.
In a space of one week, two African presidents have been forced to step down after protests from the people.
Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 82, resigned on April 3 after weeks of massive street protests. Bouteflika who has been ill since he suffered a stroke six years ago, had had been in power for 20 years and had dropped plans to seek a fifth term as opposition to his rule grew. He had avoided public events ever since he fell ill.
Once seen as a strongman of Africa, Bashir had been in power since 1989 and is wanted by the International Criminal Court in 2009 over war crimes. It now remains to be seen whether the ICC will intensify their pursuit.
Bouteflika and Bashir join the growing club of Africa’s strongmen who have been ousted from power . In November 2017, Robert Mugabe was forced to step down by the military after 37 years in power, sending the people of Zimbabwe into wild jubilation on the streets of Harare.
The current political wave sweeping through the continent is a reminder of the Arab Spring that swept through parts of Arab Africa in 2010 leading to the nasty ousting of Hosni Mubarak (Egypt) and Ben Ali (Tunisia).
