Algeria: Frenzied quest for “consensus candidate” tears Islamist camp apart

The Islamist political parties seem to be deeply divided over the choice of the most appropriate candidate likely to represent the Islamist camp in the upcoming 2014 Presidential elections which have been thrown into the limelight because the general uncertainty and confusion brought about by the protracted illness of President Abdellaziz Bouteflika who is still convalescing at the Invalides medical institution in the French capital Paris.

The Islamist parties have of late engaged in broad-based consultations in a bid to pick out a “consensus candidate” who will stand in the way of the candidate to be selected by the power establishment for the 2014 Presidential contest.

But, they have so far failed to agree on the name of such a figurehead  personality because of ideological reasons fearing that some parties within the Islamist coalition could be swayed by the powers that be with on focus the forging of a last-minute political deal to the detriment of the Islamist trend as a whole.

The Secretary General of the Annahda movement, Fathi Rebai however waxed rather optimistic despite the current logjam, saying that the consultations would be steadily pursued in the next few days in order to clear the air and to remove all the lingering hurdles in the quest for the most adequate candidate of the Islamist opposition.

He affirmed that the Islamist parties should pool their efforts and fulfill their declared objective of picking out a consensus candidate in the hope of carrying the day in the next Presidential polls barring any fraud or ballot-rigging.