President Bouteflika has been rarely seen in public – here he was voting in May 2017
ALGIERS, March 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Algeria’s veteran President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has defied protesters by confirming he will run again – but says he will not serve a full term.
In a letter he said if he won April’s vote he would oversee a national dialogue leading to fresh elections that he would not contest.
His decision to seek a fifth term in office sparked nationwide protests.
Bouteflika, 82, has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.
Sunday saw new protests as a midnight deadline loomed for candidates to register. By nightfall young people were again marching in the capital Algiers despite the president’s offer.
Bouteflika’s campaign manager submitted papers on behalf of the ailing president, who is undergoing medical treatment in Switzerland.
The electoral commission has said candidates need to submit them in person, but the Constitutional Council ruled that he did not have to be physically present.
The proposal came in the form of a letter to the Algerian people read out on state television.
Should he be re-elected, Bouteflika said he would hold an “inclusive national conference” followed by a vote to determine the next president.
He said he would not run again and acknowledged the protests that have rocked Algeria.
So far, six other candidates have formally registered, among them a retired general, Ali Ghediri, who has promised to bring “change” to Algeria.
Businessman Rachid Nekkaz, who has a sizeable Facebook following and is said to be popular among Algeria’s young, announced plans to run, but was deemed ineligible.
Instead his cousin, a car mechanic who is also called Rachid Nekkaz has entered and the businessman says he will serve as his campaign manager.
Two opposition parties, the Labour Party, and the Islamist Movement of Society for Peace, have said they will boycott the election.
Demonstrations broke out about 10 days ago after Bouteflika announced his plans to run for office again.
There have also been demonstrations in France, the former colonial power, which is home to a large Algerian community.
Bouteflika came to power in 1999 and is credited with putting an end to a civil war that is estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people.
After his stroke he won re-election in a poll denounced by the opposition and dissolved the country’s powerful spy agency, replacing it with a body loyal to him.
Despite the dissent, Bouteflika is still widely tipped to win the election this year. — NNN-AGENCIES