Algeria: Bouteflika nominated for 5th-time presidency

By Ali SemerciALGIERS (AA) - Algeria's ruling coalition partner parties Saturday nominated President Abdelaziz Bouteflika for the elections set for April 18.
The coalition's partner parties issued a joint written statement after a meeting held in National Liberation Front's central office, saying that their candidate for the upcoming election was Bouteflika.
On Jan. 26, the largest Islamic-oriented party in Algeria, the Peace Society Movement, nominated its leader Abderrazak Makri for the coming elections.
The Socialist Forces Front, the earliest opposing political party in the country, previously announced that it would boycott the elections.
President Bouteflika, 81, in January, signed the decree calling on the electoral commission to hold the election on April 18.
While Bouteflika has yet to react to the nomination calls over his fifth term in the office, the opposition wants him to withdraw due to health issues.