ALGIERS: Algerians will vote in a presidential election Thursday with Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who has ruled the oil-rich North African nation for 15 years, the firm favourite for re-election despite chronic health problems.
The 77-year-old president has been conspicuous by his absence from the campaign trail, looking frail on the rare occasions he has appeared in public since suffering a mini-stroke last year, with a team of high-profile allies instead making his case.
Despite rehabilitation treatment and assurances from former premier Abdelmalek Sellal, who is spearheading the campaign, that he is "improving day by day", many doubt whether Bouteflika is fit to continue for another five years.
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