Algeria - Abdelmalek Sellal Named As New Prime Minister

Algeria's president named Abdelmalek Sellal as the country's new prime minister on Monday, ending some political uncertainty almost four months after parliamentary elections.

A new government was expected to be appointed immediately after the May 10 poll but a clash among decision makers delayed the decision.

According to convention, Ahmed Ouyahia should have stepped down as prime minister following the poll, after which President Abdelaziz Bouteflika should have either invited Ouyahia back or named a new person for the job.

None of this has happened, and the delay in naming a new prime minister and government paralysed Algerian politics.

An official statement said 75-year-old Bouteflika had "put an end to the functions of Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, who has presented the resignation of the government".

Sellal, a technocrat who does not belong to any political party, was previously water resources minister and served for more than a decade as minister for various other departments. He was Bouteflika's campaign director for the 2004 presidential election.

The names of the other ministers in the new government will be announced on Tuesday, a senior government official said.

Algeria is an important energy supplier for Europe, and a U.S. ally in its fight against al Qaeda in the region.

The conservative National Liberation Front, the party which has ruled Algeria for 50 years, dominated the polls on May 10.