Algerians protest Bouteflika's planned bid for 5th term

By Abdel Razek Abdallah

ALGIERS (AA) - For the second consecutive Friday, capital Algiers and other parts of Algeria saw large demonstrations against President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s planned bid for a fifth term in office.

According to witnesses, protests erupted after Friday prayers in the capital and in a number of other cities, including Setif, Tizi Ouzou, Bouira, Ghardaia, Oran and Tiaret.

Demonstrators decried plans by Bouteflika, who is currently receiving medical treatment in Switzerland, to contest presidential polls slated for April 18.

Last month, Algeria’s ruling National Liberation Front nominated the 81-year-old Bouteflika -- who has ruled Algeria since 1999 -- to run for a fifth term in office.

Opposition leaders, for their part, have repeatedly urged the aging president, who in 2013 was treated for a blood clot in the brain, to refrain from contesting next month’s election.