Algerian president to run for fourth term

Algerian President Abdulaziz Bouteflika is set to run for a fourth term, his National Liberation Front (NLF) party said here on Saturday. "The President Bouteflika will announce candidacy for presidential elections by January or February," Amar Saidani, chairman of the National Liberation Front (NLF) party said at a meeting with provincial party leaders. Saidani said the meeting of provincial NLF leaders was mainly intended to ponder over preparations and arrangements for the country's forthcoming presidential polls due to be held in April 2014. The remarks came following a recent political controversy in Algeria over the Algerian leader's plan to run for presidency for a new fourth term in office. Bouteflika rose to power in 1999, and was re-elected in 2004 and again in 2009, after changes in the constitution which allowed him to stand for more than two terms. Boutefika was recently in Paris for health issues, rising concerns over his ability to run for a new term