Bouteflika’s Uncertain Fifth Term

MENARA Future Notes, nº 16

In April 2019, Algerian voters will go to the polls to elect their next president. On 28 October 2018, Djamel Ould Abbes, chairman of the ruling National Liberation Front (Front de Libération Nationale, FLN), declared that the incumbent president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is the party’s designated candidate for the elections. Bouteflika, who was first elected in 1999 and is the longestserving Algerian head of state, has yet to announce his candidacy. The FLN’s announcement does not mean that he has accepted or that he will not drop out closer to the time in favour of another candidate. However, for the moment the only obstacle to his re-election seems to be his advanced age, 81, and deteriorating health: the other candidates pose no threat and reflect the non-existence of any real opposition.