BOUTEFLIKA TOWARDS A FIFTH MANDATE

IN ALGERIA

No television appearance, or even radio message but a simple "message to the Nation" to official Sunday, February 10 the presidential candidacy of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in power for two decades in Algeria.

Despite his age and health problems, the outgoing Algerian president will seek a fifth term.

Nailed in a wheelchair by a stroke since 2013, Abdelaziz Bouteflika is ahead of criticism of his state of health:

"Of course, I do not have the same physical strength as before, something that I have never hidden from our people. But the unwavering desire to serve the homeland has never left me and it allows me to transcend the constraints related to the health problems that everyone may face one day. ".

The National Liberation Front (FLN), in power since the country's independence, has designated it as its candidate, as the three other parties of the alliance have already done: the Prime Minister's National Democratic Rally (RND) Ahmed Ouyahia, the Rally of Hope of Algeria (TAJ) and the Algerian People's Movement (MPA).

Behind this weakened president, there would be a whole entourage pushing to keep him in power. First of all, a family clan with its two brothers at the heart of the system, Said Bouteflika being a transmission belt with the army, but also an economic ruling caste ; For pro-Bouteflika, the president guarantees the stability of the country as a bulwark against fundamentalism in view of the situation in Libya, Syria or Egypt.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika was also the architect of the return to peace in Algeria after ten years of bloody civil war. While he took advantage of the rise in oil prices between 2004 and 2014 to launch extensive infrastructure programs and de-leveraging the country, his fourth term was marked by the fall in oil prices that hit the economy hard. ultra-dependent country of oil. One-third of young people under 25 are unemployed.

All the austerity measures taken in recent years to cope with the fall in the price of a barrel of oil have been abandoned. Recruitment in the public service has been revived. Young business creators financially supported by the state who have not repaid their credit will not be prosecuted. The Ministry of the Mujahideen (veterans) has announced up to 100% increase on pensions paid to those who suffer from chronic diseases. The president announced a "national conference" open to the opposition and intended to give birth to institutional, economic and social reforms.

In opposition, some candidates seek to negotiate an alliance for a single bid against Bouteflika. For those who do not let themselves be tempted by the call for an outright boycott of the polls, the negotiations are already well underway to know who will try to embody the wave of "Everything but Bouteflika" that rises in the Algerian youth on the networks social.

Two opponents are already in the running. Abderrazak Makri, head of the largest Islamist Islamist Movement for Peace (MSP), and retired general Ali Ghediri, unknown to the public, have announced their intention to run for office while Ali Benflis, former prime minister of Bouteflika and his main opponent, has not yet said if he would show up.

Systematically reelected in the first round with more than 80% of the vote, the head of state again this time as the favorite of the vote but abstention may be strong .