Newly Elected Algerian President Abdelmadjid Sworn In

Riyaz Patel

The newly elected Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was sworn in Thursday as the Hirak protest movement mulled its response to his offer of dialogue to end the months-long political crisis.

Mounted guards in traditional red tunics, white turbans and hooded cloaks lined the way into the Palais des Nations as Tebboune entered, with Algeria’s flag fluttering overhead.

The 74-year-old Tebboune, a former prime minister who casts himself as a reformer, was elected last week in a vote the opposition regarded as a charade intended to keep the ruling elite in power.

The army saw Thursday’s election as the best way to end 10 months of weekly mass protests that helped oust Tebboune’s predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika in April, and restore a political order in which it holds sway.