The Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune has reportedly been staying at a military base in Ain Naâdja in Algiers for a week according to sources close to the presidency.
First there was the announcement of voluntary isolation, then the admission of his hospitalization. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was admitted to the military hospital of Ain Naâdja, on the heights of Algiers, according to a statement released by Algeria Presse Service (APS) Tuesday (October 27) at the end of the day.
The presidency does not specify the reasons for his hospitalization or the date of his admission. On the recommendation of his doctors, the president integrated a specialized care unit of the central army hospital in Algiers, indicates the same source which specifies that the state of health of the Algerian president is “stable and does not inspire any worry “.
However, other sources have confirmed that the president contracted Covid-19 several days ago leading to his admission to the hospital.
President Tebboune’s hospitalization came days before a scheduled November 1 constitutional referendum that could give the country’s top leader more power, while at the same time limiting his tenure to two five-year terms.
Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad, who announced the president’s hospitalization for “specialized treatment,” has been campaigning across the country in recent days to urge Algerians to approve the proposed constitutional changes.
Given Tebboune’s age (74), there is always some sort of risk with this kind of illness, but he said Algeria’s governmental institutions have shown themselves to be fairly solid and that the referendum would go ahead as planned Sunday.
Several French and Algerian media outlets suggested there were underlying tensions between Tebboune and the country’s military over the referendum.
The Algerian military is a major power broker in the country and played a key role in the transition in 2019 between Tebboune and former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.