G-14 does not oppose Bouteflika's candidacy, but asks him to provide a medical certificate”

Former Prime Minister, Ahmed Ben Bitour, called upon the rulers to leave peacefully through the Presidential Elections, and said that the G-14 should move to achieve change similar to what happened in Tunisia and Egypt.

Arezki Ferrad, representative of the national figures within the G-14 said they do not oppose the candidacy of President for the elections, but he has first to submit a medical certificate about his health.

Political leaders representing the G-14, which has expanded to include 19 parties and a national figure, called upon the people to do the effective change, and that was at Monday’s meeting, at the Hall of Mohammed Zeinat in Riad El Fath, at the presence of the candidate for the presidential elections, Ahmed Benbitour, as well as Arezki Ferradi, for the first time, while representatives of the presumptive nominee for the presidential elections Ali Benflis, namely Ahmad Adhimi, and Abdelaziz Rehabi, only signed on the list of participants in the meeting, without attending and contributing to deliver a speech on behalf of the former FLN Secretary General.

Taher Ben Baibache, spokesman for the political parties within the group, justified this absence due to the fact that Benflis has not yet announced his candidacy, and if he will do that, he will call him like the rest of this bloc’s organizers, at a time some sources ruled out the possibility of joining Benflis, while representatives from RCD attended but only as observers, as Benbitour delivered a speech on behalf of the candidates for the presidential elections within the group, and said; “We are going to begin a new era, thanks to the efforts of activists from different parties and personalities to express their rejection of the current situation, believing that the country is in danger and a large front should be formed to avoid setting aside to bad consequences. I call upon the actors from men, women, youth and journalists to come together in order to save the country”.

Head of Al Fajr Al Jadeed (New Dawn) Party, Tahar Ben Baibache, issued a statement announcing the demand to create an independent political committee to monitor the elections, claiming that the previous experiments proved the impossibility of Authority’s commitment to the promises that are offered with regard to ensuring the integrity of elections, recalling the speech that was delivered by the President Bouteflika in 2011, when he announced the political reforms, “while the legislative elections that followed where like a massacre”

G-14 asked not to amend the constitution before the Presidential Elections because it will be on the size, and will enable the President to appoint a deputy to carry out the tasks entrusted to him, in the words of Arezki Ferrad, as the group required the independent committee to monitor the election and purge the voters’ lists, because no one can provide adequate safeguards.