Two Long-serving African Presidents Dethroned in a Fortnight

The list of African long-serving presidents has shrunk in a memorable historic sequence and time raising hope that democracy will soon be in most African countries in terms of power holding.

For instance, the month of April has seen two dictators ousted from office.

Algeria’s political turmoil began in late February when the 82-year-old Bouteflika announced his bid to seek a fifth term in office in an election planned for April 18.

The move triggered mass rallies against the ailing leader, which eventually forced him to backtrack and postpone the poll. But Bouteflika, who has been confined to a wheelchair since a 2013 stroke, said he would remain in office to oversee a transition that would include drafting a new constitution.

The pledges failed to appease protesters, who continued rallying en masse demanding a total political overhaul.

On April 2, after weeks of mass nationwide protests and increasing pressure from the powerful armed forces, Bouteflika announced his resignation. In accordance with Algeria’s constitution, Bensalah, the chairman of the upper house of parliament, took over as caretaker president.

On the other hand, the Sudanese military has removed President Omar al-Bashir from power and set up a transitional military council to rule the country for two years, Sudan’s Minister of Defense, Awad Mohamed Ahmed Ibn Auf, said in a televised statement on Thursday.

More details have been emerging about how Bashir was forced from power. Before dawn on Thursday, the heads of Sudan’s four main security apparatuses arrived at President Omar al-Bashir’s residence to deliver the message that he must go.

At 3:30 a.m., the leaders of the security agencies, which have so far been loyal to Bashir, told Sudan’s longtime leader that “there was no alternative” but for him to step down, two senior military sources with direct knowledge of the conversation told reporters.

According to the sources, Bashir resigned himself to the reality, saying “with the blessings of God,”