Algeria's Bouteflika silent on third term

ALGIERS, Algeria, Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is playing coy about his intentions of running for an unprecedented third term as the country's leader, observers say.

Bouteflika, who has been president since April 1999 and whose current term expires in March, hasn't announced whether he will seek another term, which would require changing Algeria's constitution to allow a third term, Med Basin Newsline reported Wednesday.

Because many think Bouteflika, 71, will indeed move to remain in office, the scheduled April 2009 presidential elections haven't drawn many potential opponents. Only one, Moussa Touati, leader of the newly created National Algerian Front, has filed candidacy papers.

Unnamed political sources told Med Basin Newsline that Bouteflika may move to alter the constitution to allow for seven-year, rather than the current five-year terms for the presidency, which would postpone elections until 2011.

The president's party, the ruling National Liberation Front, has announced its support for a third term for Bouteflika and constitutional reform.