Algerians Aren’t Taking Bouteflika’s Re-Election Bid Lying Down

Algerians Aren’t Taking Bouteflika’s Re-Election Bid Lying Down
University students participate in a protest to denounce President Abdelaziz Bouteflika’s bid for a fifth term, in Algiers, Algeria, Feb. 26, 2019 (AP photo by Anis Belghoul).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, WPR Senior Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

Algeria’s ailing, 81-year-old president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, announced his candidacy for a fifth term last month in the quietest manner possible, issuing a statement to the state news agency. Given his health problems, which have kept him largely out of the public eye in recent years, analysts speculated that Bouteflika was incapable of launching his re-election bid any other way.

The response by Algerians, however, has been anything but quiet. In recent days, they’ve taken to the streets in the biggest protests in Algeria since the Arab uprisings of 2011, and the government is bracing for more large-scale mobilizations. Radio France Internationale reported on Friday that police were deployed at major government buildings in the capital, Algiers, and were also patrolling the city’s main roads.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review