It is likely that Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the Algerian president, has reached a deal with the military that allows him to “overthrow” his rivals and run for a second presidential term next year.
And there are reports about Tebboune’s efforts to overthrow his rival for the leadership of Algeria in the next stage, one of the pillars of the Algerian political system, the current Foreign Minister Ramadan Lamamra, and his replacement by the Secretary-General of the Ministry, Ammar Blani.
Observers suggested that Lamamra might have a potential candidate for the 2024 presidential elections, in competition with Tebboune.
In his latest media output, the Algerian president left a vague reference about “people waiting for the date of 2024,” which sparked a debate about whether this was intended to “arrange a wing in power for a new candidate.”
What confirms this news is the absence of Lamamra from the diplomatic scene during the past two weeks, while Blaney supervises foreign officials visiting Algeria and the diplomatic activities organized at the ministry’s headquarters.
Lamamra was also absent from the 159th regular session of the Arab League Council at the level of foreign ministers, which was held last Wednesday in Cairo.
This is further confirmed by the fact that the Algerian official media did not cover the meeting between Lamamra and the US Deputy Secretary of State in charge of arms control and international security affairs, Bonnie Denise Jenkins, during her visit to Algeria on March 7.
The photos published by this American official revealed this meeting. Otherwise, the last official activity covered by the Algerian official media for Lamamra dates back to February 23, when he received the credentials of the ambassadors of Bulgaria, Guinea-Bissau and Peru.
And the Africa Intelligence website stated, according to what was reported by the “Al-Quds Al-Arabi” newspaper, that a dispute had erupted between him and the entourage of President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, after the presidency refused to approve the list he had drawn up for the movement of ambassadors and consuls.
According to this site, the failure to agree on several names to represent Algerian diplomacy abroad led to a near rupture between the presidency and Lamamra.
It is expected that Lamamra will be removed in a cabinet reshuffle that Tebboune will announce in the coming days. Thus, since 2017, the Algerian Foreign Ministry has witnessed the assumption of three ministers, Abdelkader Messahel, Sabri Boukadoum, and Ramtane Lamamra.