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Algeria gambles on old captain to chart new waters

The announcement that Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is running for a fifth term in the country’s elections raised questions about Algerians’ readiness to endorse the man who has played a prominent role in ending the civil war.
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TUNIS, Tunisia — The Feb. 10 announcement that 81-year-old Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika would seek a fifth term in office has confirmed and confounded expectations in equal measure.

Few would deny that the incumbent’s health is poor. Since suffering from a devastating stroke in 2013, he has rarely appeared in public. Rumors of ill health are rife. In 2017, the abrupt cancellation of a diplomatic visit by Angela Merkel was enough to spark rumors of the president’s death.

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