Algeria Ruling Party Asks President to Run For 5th Term

Members of Algeria’s ruling party have called on President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a fifth consecutive term, according to local media reports.

Speaking at a party meeting on Saturday, the National Liberation Front’s (or FLN by its French acronym) secretary-general, Djamel Ould Abbes, confirmed earlier reports about party and government officials pushing for the ailing president’s re-election in next year’s vote, Aljazeera reported.

“The executives and elected representatives of the FLN call on the president to continue his mission, started in 1999 as head of the country … and hope that he will respond favorably to our request, but it is up to him and him alone to decide whether to accept or decline our invitation,” Ould Abbes said.

The minister of foreign affairs, Abdelkader Messahel, who also spoke at the gathering expressed support for the bid as he credited the return of peace and stability to Algeria following a decade-long civil war to Bouteflika’s “wise” leadership.

“Under Bouteflika’s presidency, Algeria, which experienced a situation bordering civil war in 1997, became one of the most stable and secure countries thanks to the Civil Concord and the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation.”

Ould Abbas said the party would soon release a comprehensive document detailing the president’s achievements since assuming power in 1999.

Analysts say the announcement was a long time coming. They argue that while the octogenarian’s continued presence in the political scene comes as no surprise, calls by the party’s executives for him to run for office provide a rare glimpse into the country’s complex power structure.