Path: news.cs.columbia.edu!newsmaster.cc.columbia.edu!flute.clari.net!soprano.clari.net!clarinews
X-Fn: dd/Qalgeria-vote.RjWB_9FF
Distribution: cl-2,cl-3,cl-edu,cl-4,cl-corp,cl-be
X-No-Archive: yes
From: C-afp@clari.net (AFP)
Newsgroups: clari.world.gov.politics,clari.world.africa.northwestern,clari.world.mideast+africa
Subject: 47 potential candidates for the Algerian presidency
Organization: Copyright 1999 by Agence France-Presse (via ClariNet)
Message-ID: <Qalgeria-voteURjWB_9FF@clari.net>
Lines: 25
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 13:52:22 PST
ACategory: international
Slugword: Algeria-vote
Threadword: algeria
Priority: regular
Approved: e.news@clari.net
Xref: news.cs.columbia.edu clari.world.gov.politics:49289 clari.world.africa.northwestern:7077 clari.world.mideast+africa:40974

  	  				 
   ALGIERS, Feb 15 (AFP) - Forty-seven aspirants to the Algerian  
presidency have picked up forms enabling them to formally present 
their candidacy for the April 15 elections, the interior ministry 
said Monday. 
   Under Algerian electoral law, the candidates must collect 75,000  
signatures from at least 25 wilayas (regions) or the signatures of 
at least 600 elected officials on these forms. 
   Of the 47 who expressed interest, about only 10 are expected to  
meet the requirements to run in the vote, the country's second 
multiparty presidential poll, according to analysts. 
   Candidates already include former foreign ministers Abdelaziz  
Bouteflika and Ahmed Taleb Ibrahimi and former prime ministers 
Mouloud Hamrouche, Sid Ahmed Ghozali, Redha Malek and Mokdad Sifi. 
   President Liamine Zeroual surprised politicians, the press and  
the public last September by announcing early presidential elections 
in which he would not take part. 
   The vote cuts short the five-year mandate he won in November  
1995. 
   Algeria has been in the grip of a bitter conflict between Moslem  
fundamentalist groups and the government since 1992, when the 
military intervened to cancel general elections which the 
now-outlawed Islamic Salvation Front was poised to win. 
  	   	

