Morocco to Demolish President Bouteflika’s Childhood Home in Oujda

Rabat- The border city of Oujda has decided to demolish Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s abandoned childhood house.

Oujda Mayor Omar Hajira summoned the consul general of Algeria in Rabat, Hicham Kimouch, to communicate the decision to tear down the house, which is in danger of collapsing on nearby residents.

Hajira stated that the region had collectively considered abolishing the house in 2017 but could not proceed due to the absence of the house’s original owners, reported Moroccan news outlet Barlamane.

Bouteflika, along with his mother and siblings, lived in the house in the 1930s before they moved to another house in the area. The house sits in the populated neighborhood of Cheqfan in Oujda’s old medina (walled city).

Ailing Bouteflika and Algerian elections

Born in 1937 in Oujda, a city in northeast Morocco on the Algerian border, Bouteflika became president of Algeria in 1999.

In his youth, Bouteflika participated in the Algerian war against French colonization between 1954 and 1962, serving as an officer in the National Liberation Front (FLN) and the National Liberation Army (ALN).

Bouteflika’s health has deteriorated since he suffered a stroke in April 2013. Despite his advanced age and health issues that prevent him from appearing in public, the president won the 2014 presidential election, his fourth consecutive victory.

The election, however, sparked controversy after many politicians deemed the outcome “fraudulent.”

In April 2018, Algeria’s ruling party, the National Liberation Front, called on Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a fifth term in the upcoming 2019 election.

Following the sacking of Algerian senior military figures this summer, Adalberto Agozino, an Argentinian analyst wrote an article, titled “Algeria is heading for new electoral fraud.”

The analyst wrote that Algeria is purging the army and police in order to “ensure the success” of the next presidential election.

Agozino also questioned Bouteflika’s ability to lead the country and fulfill presidential duties.