ABDEL-AZIZ BOUTEFLIKA, 77 As the Arab saying goes, Bouteflika is the absent-present candidate who, because of a stroke that dealt him a serious health blow last year, is too ill to campaign for himself. Instead former prime minister Abdel-Malek Sellal stepped down earlier this month in order to campaign on Bouteflika's behalf. But despite the protests against his re-election for a fourth time, and the recent emergence of the Barakat (Enough) Movement against his re-election, Bouteflika, who enjoys support of the military and the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN), is a sure winner. A War of Independence veteran since the age of 19, Bouteflika contested and won the 1999 presidential elections and the two that followed in 2004 and 2009. In 2008, he amended the constitution — which previously limited a president's re-election prospects to two terms only — to allow for indefinite re-election of the president. His supporters credit him with ending the country's civil war in the 1990s. He served in parliament and at the age of 25 was appointed minister of sports and youth and tourism, and later foreign minister, while rising within the ranks of the influential FLN. Following the death of president Houarai Boumedien in 1978, Bouteflika — who was his confident — left Algeria in self-imposed exile. He returned to Algeria in 1987 as an active figure in the FLN at a time of unrest, amid the violent 1988 riots and the subsequent downfall of the one party system. In recent years, the rising influence of his younger brother and aide, Ali, has been the subject of corruption allegations that made their way to the press. As his health deteriorated steadily over the past few years, prior to the stroke, Bouteflika was rumoured to have grown more dependent on his inner circle. Bouteflika is Algeria's longest serving president and under his tenure the country's GDP growth rate reached a record 6.7 per cent in 2003 due to petroleum and natural gas exports. Since 2006, this dropped to an average three per cent, which still offers financial stability, compensating for the political stagnation that dominates the country.
ALI BEN FLIS, 69 Lawyer, ex-judge, human rights defender, reformist and the son of a martyr in the War of Independence, Benflis is Bouteflika's main competitor, but not a threat. Benflis was appointed minister of justice in November 1988 for three years. He left the government in July 1991 in protest at administrative detention imposed without judicial review. In 1987, he co-founded the Algerian League for Human Rights. Two years later, Benflis led Abdel-Aziz Bouteflika's first presidential campaign for the 1999 elections and was later appointed secretary general and chief of staff of the presidency. He was prime minister in 2000 for three years. A prominent figure in the ruling National Liberation Front (FLN), Benflis was elected its secretary general in 2001. In 2004, he ran for the presidential elections against Bouteflika, coming second with only 6.42 per cent of the vote while Bouteflika was re-elected. Following this defeat, Benflis resigned from his position as secretary general of the FLN and disappeared from the political scene. Benflis has repeatedly warned of the likely rigging of the 17 April presidential vote.
LOUISA HANOUN, 59 Hanoun is the left-wing Worker's Party third-time presidential candidate, after 2004 and 2009. A feminist activist, Hanoun was the first woman in her family to go to school. She studied law and joined the clandestine Socialist Workers' Organisation. She was arrested several times in the 1980s. Following the introduction of the multiparty system, Hanoun founded the Worker's Party in 1989 and has remained its secretary general since. She co-founded an association for equal rights between the sexes in 1989. Hanoun was the first woman to run in Algerian presidential elections, in 2004. Hanoun was a member of parliament when Algeria's civil war broke out between the military and militant Islamists after the army scrapped elections the latter were poised to win in 1992. She was a vocal opponent of the government's policy of eradicating the Islamists. She ranked second in the 2009 elections, with 4.22 per cent of the votes. Hanoun is an advocate of opening Algeria's shared borders with neighbouring Morocco, which have been closed since 1994. In her presidential campaign she has pledged to build the greater, united Maghreb. Hanoun has also been indirectly critical of Benflis's election discourse, suggesting that his repeated warnings of possible vote rigging and fiery statements in the event of his defeat, aim to “burn Algeria”.
ABDEL-AZIZ BELAID, 50 Belaid has a PhD in medicine and a law degree. He's the youngest presidential candidate and a first time contender in the race. At 23, Belaid joined the National Liberation Front in 1986 and was an elected MP from 1997 to 2007. In 2012, he left the FLN over disagreements with its leadership and founded the Al-Mustaqbal (Future) Front.
ALI FAWZY REBAINE, 59 Rebaine hails from a revolutionary family: his father died in the War of Independence and his mother was a volunteer with the resistance. Currently leader of the nationalist Ahd 54 Party, Rebaine's political career started in the mid-1980s when he founded an association to support and advance the rights of the children of the war's martyrs. He also founded a human rights group in 1985. He was arrested 1983 for more than a year and charged with harming Algeria's national security. Then in 1985 — prior to the formation of the multiparty system — he was arrested for forming an illegal political organisation and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He was granted a presidential pardon in 1987. Rebaine ran for the presidential office twice, in 2004 and 2000, where he received 0.63 per cent and 0.93 per cent of the vote respectively. In this election campaign, Rebaine has been vocal in his criticism of both Bouteflika and Benflis, whom he accused of paying for supporters “with dirty money” to “fill” their election rallies. He's also been supportive of the Barakat (Enough) Movement against Bouteflika's fourth re-election.
MOUSSA TOUATI, 60 Touati set up the Algerian National Front (ANF) in 1999 and is a former soldier who was trained in Syria and Libya. He has stood as a candidate in two previous presidential elections. Touati worked for the Customs Authority and in several committees and organisations to defend the interests of children of those killed in the War of Independence (1954-1962) since the mid-1980s. The ANF came third in the 2007 legislative elections with 27 seats. Touati ranked third in the 2009 presidential elections with 2.31 per cent of the vote. In his election campaign, Touati has been carefully critical of Bouteflika for seeking a fourth term despite his weak health. He also accused him of allowing crony capitalists to fund his election campaign in return for guaranteed deals and projects.
