FILE PHOTO: Algeria's President Abdelaziz Bouteflika meets with army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gaid Salah in Algiers, Algeria, in this handout still image taken from a TV footage released on March 11, 2019. Algerian TV /Handout via Reuters/File Photo

ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria’s constitutional council is holding a special meeting after the country’s army chief called for the removal of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the private El Bilad TV said.

Earlier, army chief Ahmed Gaed Salah asked for the presidency to be vacated as he deems popular demands to be valid after a month of mass protests against Bouteflika, state media said.