The opposition Algerian Workers' Party accused former party members of “plotting a coup” against secretary-general Louisa Hanoune, saying they were backed by state authorities.
Former lawmakers and members of the party's central committee, who were expelled by Hanoune for disciplinary reasons, met at a resort west of Algiers to elect a new leader.
They withdrew confidence from Hanoune and chose former leader Mounir Nasri as acting secretary-general, pending the organization of an extraordinary conference to choose new leadership.
Nasri accused Hanoune of several “grave violations”, such as dismissing members, saying the attendees wanted to “correct the path of the party”.
Hanoune ran twice in presidential elections in 2009 and 2014, and spent nine months in prison last year on charges of “conspiring against the army,” but she was acquitted soon after.
Djelloul Djoudi of the Workers' Party told Asharq Al-Awsat that the people who carried out the coup had no organizational ties to the party, adding that the Algiers administrative authorities granted them a license to hold a public meeting.
The license confirms that the Ministry of Interior was involved in the coup, and the judicial report of the meeting's agenda also implicates the Justice Ministry, he added.
“The entire government supports this plot,” said Djoudi.
He stressed that the incident proves that the ruling system has not changed, in contrast to the slogan of a new Algeria, which has been raised since the presidential elections at the end of 2019.
Djoudi explained that the party is paying the price for refusing to participate in the parliamentary elections, scheduled for June 12.
Hanoune had been subject to two failed attempts to oust her by party members in 2015 and 2019.
