Algerian president to run for re-election in April poll

Algerian president to run for re-election in April poll

Algeria’s 76-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is set to run for a fourth term in office in the country’s upcoming presidential election, his prime minister says.

On Saturday, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal announced that Bouteflika would be a candidate in the country’s April 17 presidential race, adding that the president’s “decision to run comes at the insistence of the people and after some deep reflection.”

The Algerian premier further made an apparent reference to the opposition’s criticism of Bouteflika’s health, stressing, “He does not need to campaign himself, there are men who can campaign for him.”
Bouteflika’s opponents say he is too frail to seek re-election.

Bouteflika is expected to officially announce his candidacy later in the day, according to a source close to the Algerian presidency.

Algerian state media said the ailing president had formally notified the Interior Ministry of his decision to take part in the mid-April poll and to collect the appropriate documents for signature.

Under the Algerian electoral law, each presidential candidate is required to gather at least 60,000 signatures from supporters across at least 25 provinces, with a minimum of 1,500 signatures from each.

On January 14, the Algerian president, who suffered a mini-stroke last year, returned to his country after undergoing medical examinations for three days at a hospital in the French capital, Paris. His office said he had been flown to France for a “routine check-up.”

The health of the elderly president, who has ruled Algeria since 1999, has become a major source of speculation as he was rushed to the same military hospital in Paris following his mini-stroke in April 2013.