ALGIERS, 23 February 2004 — Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has been unofficially on the campaign trail for months, announced yesterday he will stand for a second term in an election to be held in April.
Bouteflika told hundreds of party activists at an Algiers hotel that he was seeking five more years in office to continue his program of "restoring peace and promoting national reconciliation."
He said he was responding to appeals he had received from people across the oil-rich north African country and hoped to "get Algeria back to work" and "reestablish the country's place in the concert of nations."
Meanwhile, Algerian veteran politician Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi with close ties to Islamic voters said yesterday he will also run for president.
"I have decided to run though I'm aware that all the mechanisms of power are in place for the current president to get re-elected," Ibrahimi told a news conference.
