Just back from Germany, where he was being treated for post-Covid complications, Algerian President Tebboune announced the dissolution of Parliament on Thursday in an address to the Nation.
He also called for early elections and will effect a cabinet reshuffle within 48 hours.
"I decided to dissolve the National People's Congress (APN) to call for elections," said Mr. Tebboune, who said he wanted to "open its doors to the youth".
Graces for several of the Hirak inmates
For a week, the president has stepped up consultations with six political parties, including opposition parties.
The Head of State, however, did not receive the two majority parties in Parliament, the National Liberation Front (FLN) and the RND (National Democratic Rally), very unpopular due to their proximity to former President Abdelaziz. Bouteflika and his clan.
These consultations take place in a context of tension in the regime as the second anniversary of the Hirak approaches, an unprecedented popular protest movement launched on February 22, 2019 and which forced Mr. Bouteflika to resign two months later.
Abdelmadjid Tebboune has also announced appeasement measures, with pardon for several dozen detainees at Hirak.
Some 70 people are currently imprisoned in Algeria in connection with the Hirak protests and / or individual freedoms, according to the National Committee for the Liberation of Detainees (CNLD).