ALGERIA: Opposition leader Ali Benflis holds final campaign rally ahead of Algeria's April 17 elections
Record ID:
214586
ALGERIA: Opposition leader Ali Benflis holds final campaign rally ahead of Algeria's April 17 elections
- Title: ALGERIA: Opposition leader Ali Benflis holds final campaign rally ahead of Algeria's April 17 elections
- Date: 13th April 2014
- Summary: ALGIERS, ALGERIA (APRIL 13, 2014) (REUTERS) OPPOSITION PARTY SUPPORTERS OUTSIDE RALLY CAMPAIGN POSTERS IN SUPPORT OF OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER ALI BENFLIS VARIOUS OF THE SUPPORTERS DANCING SUPPORTER ULULATING MORE OF SUPPORTERS HOLDING BENFLIS POSTERS AND DANCING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HOURIA, OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER ALI BENFLIS SUPPORTER, SAYING: "I am here to give my support to Benflis in the presidentials, God willing he will be our president and the president of Algeria and Algerians, God willing. I support his his programme and his honesty" SUPPORTERS HOLDING BENFLIS POSTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OF ZOHRA, OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER ALI BENFLIS SUPPORTER SAYING: "I support Ali Benflis because he represents change and a better life for all Algerians, for our children" MORE SUPPORTERS HOLDING POSTERS. (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OF MOURAD, 20 YEARS OLD SUPPORTER OF OPPOSITION PARTY LEADER ALI BENFLIS, SAYING: "(I am here) to support the doctor Ali Benflis,God willing, because we like his programme a lot. We want him to be the president and no one else." BENFLIS GREETING SUPPORTERS SUPPORTERS SHOUTING "BENFLIS FOR PRESIDENT" (Arabic) VARIOUS OF THE SUPPORTERS VARIOUS OF BENFLIS ADDRESSING SUPPORTERS BENFLIS AND HIS SUPPORTERS.
- Embargoed: 28th April 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Algeria
- Country: Algeria
- Topics: Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVADMQ23D54Q9YZS2A3JPH863LAM
- Story Text: The main political rival to Algeria's incumbent president held a final rally in Rouiba, an eastern suburn of the capital Algiers, on Sunday (April 13) ahead of next week's election.
Ali Benflis made himself very visible during the campaign as opposed to the ailing president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is recovering steadily from a stroke last year and has not campaigned himself.
The president's chief ally said on Saturday (April 12) the 77-year-old Bouteflika was healthy enough to govern after the elections. He has no serious rivals for re-election in Thursday's ballot but questions about the president's health are key for Western governments, who see the North African state as a partner in the campaign against Islamist militancy in the Maghreb, and a stable supplier of gas for Europe.
The five opposition leaders challenging Bouteflika and his Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) party, which has dominated Algerian politics since independence from France, see the ailing leader's re-election bid as the last gasp of the old guard of FLN party elites and army generals who see themselves as the guardians of stability and have mostly resisted change.
Critics say Algeria needs hefty reforms to open up an economy heavily dependent on energy revenues and to attract more foreign investors, who are wary of the restrictions and bureaucracy of the largely state-controlled system.
Benflis, 69, has supporters amongst all age groups demanding change in Algeria.
"I am here to give my support to Benflis in the presidentials, God willing he will be our president and the president of Algeria and Algerians, God willing. I support his his programme and his honesty," says one supporter at the rally, Houria.
"I support Ali Benflis because he represents change and a better life for all Algerians, for our children," says another supporter, Zohra.
"(I am here) to support the doctor Ali Benflis,God willing, because we like his programme a lot. We want him to be the president and no one else," says Benflis supporter, Mourad During a rare televised appearance on Saturday Bouteflika accused Benflis of inciting violence through television after the former premier warned against election fraud.
Benflis lost massively to Bouteflika in Algeria's 2004 elections. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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