Protest in Algeria against candidature Bouteflika

Bouteflika (Foto Wikipedia)

Hundreds of demonstrators, in defiance of a ban on protests, rallied in the Algerian capital against a bid by ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika for a fifth term in office. The protesters chanted pro-democracy slogans at a rally on Friday in Algier's May 1 Square amid a heavy police presence, witnesses said.  Security forces cordoned off the square and prevented other protesters from entering it, the witnesses added.

"No fifth mandate," chanted the mostly young demonstrators, many waving Algerian flags, as they started to march through central Algiers.
Earlier this month, Bouteflika, who has ruled the North African country since 1999, announced his intention to seek a new five-year term in the elections scheduled for April 18, despite concerns over his health. The 81-year-old head of state uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since suffering a stroke in 2013.
An official ban on demonstrations in Algiers was imposed in 2001. Activists used social media to call for Friday rallies against Bouteflika across the country after the weekly Muslim prayers, also filling the main square in Annaba, 400 kilometres east of Algiers with demonstrators, the TSA news website said. Other smaller gatherings took place in other provinces including Oran in northwestern Algeria and Setif in the northeast, Algerian newspaper Elkhabar reported online.
Bouteflika is expected to easily win the vote as the opposition remains weak and divided. On Wednesday, leaders from the country's diverse opposition parties failed to agree on a joint presidential candidate.