Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika will call for elections within one year to replace him if is re-elected in elections in April, his campaign manager said on Sunday.
Abdelghani Zaalane spoke in televised comments after submitting Bouteflika’s official election papers confirming he will seek re-election next month.
Tens of thousands of protesters had been rallying throughout the day in cities around Algeria to call for Bouteflika to step down after his 20 years in power. Bouteflika has not spoken about the protests or addressed the protesters’ concerns.
Also thousands of people marched in Paris and other French cities Sunday to protest Bouteflika’s bid to stand for a fifth term in office.
Many waved their national flag or wore it over their shoulders, shouting, “out, out”, an AFP journalist at the scene witnessed.
Organizers said about 1,000 turned out in the Mediterranean port of Marseille in the south, and a few hundred in the southwest city of Toulouse.
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Although Bouteflika has been increasingly frail since suffering a stroke in 2013, he was re-elected for his fourth term in 2014.
Elections for a new president are due to take place on April 18.
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