- One dead, 183 injured in day of mass protests
- Bouteflika, 82, has spent the past week at Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland for what his office described as ‘routine medical checks’
ALGIERS: Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika fired his election campaign manager and appointed a new one on Saturday after mass protests against his decision to run for a fifth term.
Former Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal, who masterminded Bouteflika’s previous three re-election campaigns, was replaced by Transport Minister Abdelghani Zaalene.
Bouteflika, 82, who has rarely been seen in public since he suffered a stroke in 2013, has spent the past week at Geneva University Hospital in Switzerland for what his office described as “routine medical checks.”
His campaign said last week Bouteflika would submit his application as an election candidate on Sunday, before the midnight deadline. Unconfirmed Algerian media reports on Saturday said he was back in the country, although there is no legal requirement for a candidate to be physically present to lodge nomination papers.
Meanwhile, a clear-up was underway after tens of thousands took to the streets on Friday in the largest mass protests since 2011, sparked by an announcement on state media by Bouteflika’s representatives that he would seek re-election.
The Health Ministry said 183 people were injured and one person died of a heart attack. The protests were mostly peaceful, but some demonstrators tried to march on the presidential palace in Algiers and were forced back by police truncheons and tear gas.
Algerian President Bouteflika is seen on a wheelchair as he casts his vote at a polling station in Algiers during parliamentary elections in May 4, 2017. (AFP/RYAD KRAMDI)
So far, only two challengers have submitted their nominations to be election candidates: Ali Zeghdoud from the tiny Algerian Rally party, and independent Abdelkrim Hamadi.
Businessman Rachid Nekkaz has also cultivated a following among young people on social media, but he is likely to be in breach of electoral laws on nationality because he once held French citizenship.
Bouteflika’s main opponent in 2004 and 2014 was former Prime Minister Ali Benflis, who is expected to confirm on Sunday whether he will run again.
Retired general Ali Ghediri said in January he would consider running, but has said nothing recently. His supporters declined on Saturday to say whether he would submit his candidacy.
The main Islamist party, the Movement for the Society of Peace, has said it would field its candidate Abderrazak Makri, but it has not been confirmed.
The far-left Workers’ Party said on Saturday it would not field a candidate for the first time since 2004 because the presidential election could not fulfil “the real desire for change.”
After Sunday’s midnight deadline, the court has 10 days to rule on candidates’ validity. The election is on April 18.