Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confirmed that his country was on the “edge of the abyss” when he was elected in 2019, noting that “the ideology of political Islam will not exist in Algeria again.”
In his interview with the French weekly “Le Point”, he pointed out that “political Islam was not an obstacle to development in countries such as Tunisia, Turkey or Egypt. Such a model of political Islam does not bother me, because it does not rise above the laws of the republic that will be strictly enforced.”
With regard to the “popular movement”, he said: “Fortunately, a popular uprising occurred and the blessed authentic movement came in February 2019, and this enabled to stop the collapse of the state and cancel the fifth mandate, which would have enabled the beneficiary gang that seized the powers of the President to continue in governing the country
He added: “The institutions were not credible and effective, as the interests of the group of money-owners and ones with personal interests overshadowed the interests of the state, which required work to rebuild the country and its democratic institutions.”
He said: “The only movement I believe in is the original movement, and the (Rachad) and (MAC) movements are the ones that started mobilizing protests, and we will not be patient with calls for violence. Only the minority rejects the elections, and I reject any dictation from the minority. We want to build the state and fight privileges. I will not run for a second term.”
