Thousands march in Algeria, say no election before elite quits

Tensof thousands of Algerians marched in the capital on Friday to demand that therest of the ruling elite follow former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika inquitting power before any new election.

The30th consecutive Friday protest also included demands that the authoritiesrelease Karim Tabou, a prominent opposition leader who has been held sinceWednesday and charged with "contributing to weakening army morale".

Thearmy, the strongest institution in Algeria, wants a presidential election assoon as possible to break the deadlock between the protesters and theauthorities.

Theabsence of an elected president since Bouteflika resigned in April has leftAfrica's largest country, a major energy exporter, in constitutional limbo.

"Novote as long as the gang rules the country," read one banner, referring tointerim President Abdelkader Bensaleh and Prime Minister Noureddine Bedoui, whois expected to resign soon.

"FreeTabou, free Tabou," another banner read.

Dozensof Bouteflika allies including two former prime ministers, two formerintelligence chiefs, ministers and influential business tycoons have been putbehind bars on corruption charges, but the protesters are calling for widermeasures to overturn the old order.

Algeriais a key gas supplier to Europe and it is a U.S. partner in its fight againstmilitant Islamist groups in the Sahara and Sahel regions.