Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's own party is rejecting his plans for a national conference aimed at quelling mass protests against his leadership.
The spokesman for the FLN party said Sunday on private TV channel Dzair News that the conference idea is "no longer valid" because it would involve unelected figures and the protesters reject it.
Spokesman Hocine Khaldoun said the solution to Algeria's political crisis is "the election of a president capable of talking to the people."
The comments mark a new blow to 82-year-old Bouteflika, who has barely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke and has faced a month of protests.
Bouteflika canceled an April 18 election but proposed the national conference made up of various representatives of society to prepare new elections.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.