Opposition party leads Algeria’s parliament

Algerian lawmakers has elected an Islamist opposition figure as chairperson of parliament under pressure from mass protests demanding the departure of Moad Bouchareb

The parliament elected Slimane Chenine of the movement of national construction party to replace Moad Bouchareb from the national liberation front which has ruled Algeria since independence from France in 1962.

Bouchareb resigned a week ago, three months after Abdelaziz Bouteflika quit as president, also pressurized by demonstrators seeking democratic reforms and government personnel changes.

Chenine, 47, is the youngest lawmaker to be elected as head of the national assembly and his party has only 15 out of a total of 462 seats in parliament.

Protesters forced Bouteflika to resign on April 2 after two decades in power, and the army is now the main player in Algeria’s politics.