Algerian presidential elections enters first stages

Candidacy for presidential election in Algeria due to be held next April is opened say the ministry of interior in a statement Tuesday.  

• Would be candidates can withdraw forms from the ministry to provide voters’ signatures to sponsor  their candidacy.
• A candidate should have provided 75,000 signatures gathered in at least 25 different provinces thorugh out the country. In stead, his candidacy can be accepted if sponsored by 600 members of elected  governement institutions in at least 25 provinces as well.
• A voter or a member of parliament can only sponsor one candidate for the presidential elections.  
• Algerian parliament approved the lifting of presidential term limits, a move that opens the way for 71-year-old Algerian President  Abdelaziz Bouteflka to run for a third mandate.
• Bouteflika came to power in 1999 and was re-elected in 2005.