Algeria: Businessmen Call on Bouteflika to Run for Fifth Term

  • 9/7/2018
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President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will most probably win a fifth term in the rule, observers in Algeria said. They stated that after the employers’ bloc, which is financially and politically powerful in the country, joined the team of parties and professional unions, which has been urging the President for months to extend his rule under the slogan "Continuation to Maintain Stability." Following the meeting of the executive committee in the capital, Algerian Forum for the Heads of Enterprises (FCE) called Wednesday on Bouteflika to “complete his achievements and run for the presidential election 2019.” A statement issued by the Forum cited “the apparent national sense of the President and his sacrifices for Algeria.” In a letter to the Algerians, Bouteflika justified his candidacy for the 2014 elections as "a sacrifice," and said Algerians have urged him to do so despite knowing he was ill. Many followers say that the same scenario is likely to recur in the coming few months. The FCE also pledged to do all that it can to contribute to the provision of the conditions for the success of the development, progress and prosperity as a fundamental guarantee of peace and security. “We declare our full involvement in the roadmap, which was outlined by the President, calling for mobilizing all the material and human resources to achieve economic prosperity and confront the financial crisis,” it said. The employers bloc also announced it has joined the so-called "Strong Popular Front", formed after Bouteflikas request in a speech published by the official news agency on August 20. "It (the Front) is necessary to address the scourges of corruption and drugs," the President said. Algeria’s National Liberation Front, the majority party headed by Bouteflika, launched last week the combating front, which included the National Democratic Rally, led by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia, and a large number of small parties loyal to the president, in addition to the central syndicate that supports government policies. Notably, the FCE is headed by Businessman Ali Haddad, who started his career as a small businessman and has become one of the richest in the country. He is known for funding all the election campaigns of President Bouteflika, a close friend of Saeed Bouteflika, the Presidents brother and chief adviser. “Today, we have about 30 investors and contractors in the new parliament (emerging from the May 4, 2017 elections), which means that we have become a significant force, and we should have a word in choosing the president before the 2019 presidential elections,” a member in the FCE quoted Haddad as saying.

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