Bouteflika rivals resent being called "minor" candidates

2009-03-27

Five candidates running for the presidency in Algeria speak out against recent comments about their chances for success.

By Said Jameh for Magharebia in Algiers – 27/03/09

[File] Algeria's presidential challengers fight back against media bias.

Rivals of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika in the April 9th presidential elections expressed their resentment for having been described as "minor rivals". They also faulted opposition parties and the press for labelling them "hares".

Candidates Moussa Touati, Louisa Hanoune, Mohamed Ali Faouzi Rebaine, Mohamed Said and Mohamed Djahid Younsi decided to end their silence, rejecting the appellation.

They feel that they stand the same chances of winning as the president whose term is about to end.

Certain national papers are harshly criticising the five candidates, stating that their campaigns are not backed by the necessary popularity. "They are running for presidency just for the sake of it."

Caricaturists have so far portrayed all candidates except Bouteflika as "hares" on TV or billboards.

"Bouteflika's rivals are not even hares, but mere shadows of hares," commented Secretary-General of the opposition party the Front of Socialist Forces (FFS) Karim Tabou. "The five candidates are running for the post just to see Bouteflika through to his third term in office."

The FFS is boycotting the presidential elections.

Moussa Touati, head of the Algerian National Front, stressed that he is an adamant rival of Bouteflika. He has a programme to announce once the ballots are counted, which will be a surprise, he added. "I am a hunter, not a hare."

Louisa Hanoune and Mohamed Djahid Younsi see themselves as sound alternatives to the current president. They each believe they are capable of toppling the balance of powers and achieving victory in the elections.

The other two candidates, Mohamed Said and Ali Faouzi Rebaine, believe that the press is wrong to underestimate them. They noted that they have new political thinking, resounding popularity and years of hands-on experience.

The co-ordinator of the National Political Commission for Presidential Election Monitoring, Mohamed Teguia, has accused the press of seeking to mar the image of the five candidates. In a press release last Saturday (March 21st), Teguia reproved some of the newspapers for the "aggressive" behaviour they voiced versus the five candidates. Teguia warned that some of the attacks from the press constitute a punishable offense, and called for legal action.

"They are candidates in the full sense of the word, having being classified by the Constitutional Council as such."

Teguia heads a committee made up of 25 recognised political parties, in addition to a representative for each candidate. The committee is charged with overseeing the elections, ensuring that they proceed smoothly, and intervening in cases of disparaging a candidate.

French-language newspaper Al-Watan said that it has the right to present an evaluation of each candidate and its description of the candidates as hares falls under the premise of freedom of expression.

In his article published on Tuesday (March 24th), Mokrane Ait Ouarabi said that labelling candidates is not "an Algerian invention, but a tradition that has been followed in Europe and many countries of the world for centuries".