Political crisis escalate between Algeria's liberation front, Butaflika
Algeria, Politics, 10/3/2003

The Algerian National Liberation Front has announced that it had decided on its withdrawal from the Algerian government led by Ahmad O Yahya. In a statement, the front said that its political bureau decided to withdraw the front's ministers from the government because of what it described as the irresponsible and illogical behavior of President Abdul Aziz Butaflika.

The leadership which supports the secretary general Ali Benflis said that the ministers who chose to join Butaflika are no longer members in the party, while they confirmed their commitment to the front.

The statement considered the behavior of Butaflika and associates to him as a "systemic and pre-fabricated conspiracy with the aim to undermine the democratic principles and the foundations of the state of law." This, however comes in the consequence of the implications of the decision taken by the Algerian authorities to ban convening the special conference of the front on Saturday to confirm the nomination of Benflis for the Presidential elections in April 2004.

The spokesman for the front Abdul Salaam Mujahid stressed in a statement the persistence of the party's political bureau to convene the conference in its due time and that will be held at one of its headquarters instead of a public venue.

Mujahid indicated that there is almost a consensus to nominate Benflis for launching the presidential elections and that the next conference will be a "formal measure to crown this nomination" in light of the resolutions of the 8th congress held in March, 2003.

Once again, the spokesman accused the Algerian President Abdul Aziz Butaflika of standing behind what he called a conspiracy against the Front that exceeds the boundary of the party to threaten the country's stability and damage the democratic gains achieved in the past years.

Several days ago Ali Benflis announced his intention to launch bid for the Presidential elections as a representative for the Front, and thereby to increased the open difference with President Butaflika.

Benflis becomes the first Algerian politician to declare his nomination for the next presidential elections despite the fact he was the official for the electoral campaign of President Butaflika in 1999 before he assumed the presidency of the government from which he was removed in May this year.

The front had made a strong come back in the National People's Council ( the parliament), due to the great efforts of Benflis who was permitted when he was a prime minister to win in 2002 the legislative and municipal elections.

Political analysists said that Butaflika wants to nominate himself for the presidential elections and will need the support of the Front, due to the vast public support it enjoys.

At the beginning of this month Butaflika removed seven ministers from the National Liberation Front, most of them are Benflis associates.

Previous Stories:
  Algeria: an extraordinary conference to nominate Benflis on Saturday   (10/2/2003)
  Benflis announces his nomination for Algerian presidency   (10/1/2003)
  Testimony of Moroccan POWs in Tindouf evidences abuses, France liberte   (10/1/2003)

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