French newspapers shed light on April elections

Bouteflika’s candidacy for the third term is the inevitable result of the process of amending the constitution on the last 12 November, French newspapers reported. 

• The French newspapers also considered Bouteflika’s candidacy a pre-run victory in April’s elections, because the most prominent political figures boycott these elections, they described what happened as the “closure of the political arena”.
• The French daily newspaper “Le Monde” reported that none of the political candidates which announced their participation in the Algerian elections are able to stand in the way of president Bouteflika, because the most important opposition parties boycott the elections.
• Florence Beaugé, analyst of the Algerian matters and journalist of the international affairs in “Le Monde” said in an audio record on the first French newspapers’ web site that the leading opposition figures preferred boycotting the elections because things are settled in advance for Bouteflika. This will not serve Algeria’s political environment”. 
• Other French newspaper “l’Express” published the same analysis under the title “Third term for Bouteflika”. “Even though Bouteflika delayed announcement of his candidacy, everyone was sure that he will do so since he amended the constitution last 12 November”.
• The newspaper also spoke about the Algerian official who feared very little participation in the elections, “Minister of Interior Yazid Zerhouni recruited thousands of unemployed graduates to carry out a campaign in order to persuade citizens to vote on the ninth of April.
• Ouest France daily newspaper published its article under “Candidacy to complete the project of reconciliation”. It went in its article “There was agreement at the highest levels of the pyramid of power. However, the state of emergency in Algeria  remains the most annoying problem for the political system”.
• In the same context, the weekly “Nouvelle Observateur”, owned by the Algerian-born journalist, John Daniel Ben-Said, published a long article about the next Algerian elections, highlighting the boycott by leading opposition parties. It considered this aspect “Detraction of the elections credibility”. It also spoke about the elections of 1999, “When Bouteflika participated in 1999, and six candidates boycott the elections”.