President Bouteflika looks to third term

ALGIERS – Algerians are looking largely with frustration or indifference toward a presidential election today set to hand Abdelaziz Bouteflika another five years at the helm of this US ally with vast gas reserves, soaring youth unemployment and an active al Qaeda offshoot.

The left-wing opposition, many Islamist leaders, and the chief of al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa have called for a boycott of the vote and predicted fraud. Bouteflika, who was first elected with the army’s backing in 1999 and again in 2004, enjoys support of all key government players.
He faces five low-profile opponents, but none has successfully challenged Bouteflika’s message of continuity and reconciliation after an insurgency that ravaged this North African country in the 1990s.
The president, 72, had the constitution changed last year so he could run again. There is so little suspense about the outcome that voter turnout is viewed as the key test of the election.
Bouteflika’s campaign has told The Associated Press the president wants 60 per cent turnout, and has predicted he should win at least 75 per cent of votes cast.
– Nampa-AP