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Algeria's troubled president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is expected to run for a fifth term in the April elections, the official media said Sunday, despite health problems that have kept him largely out of the public for years.
The 81-year-old head of state, who has been in power since 1999, has declared his widely-awaited candidacy in a message to the nation that the official Algerian APS news agency has announced that it will publish later the same day.
The president announced that he would hold an "inclusive national conference" to address "political, economic and social issues" and "propose an enrichment of the constitution," the APS reported.
Bouteflika, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since his stroke in 2013, was silent about his potential candidate ahead of the 18 April poll.
The country's ruling coalition – which includes the president's National Liberation Front – lent support to Bouteflika earlier this month.
Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said that Bouteflika's health was not "an obstacle" to the exercise of his presidential duties.
Retired General Ali Ghediri, 64, was the first to announce his candidacy after the presidency fixed the election date.
The main Algerian Islamist party, the Peace Society Movement, will also participate along with its candidate, Abderrazak Makri. Bouteflika would be unable to cope with the demands of another term because of health problems.
On January 25, the country's oldest opposition party, the Socialist Front, announced that it would not introduce any candidates and called for an "active, intensive and peaceful boycott."
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