President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has secured decisive support from the political and army elite for what Algerians say looks likely to be a bid to change the constitution and stand for a third term expiring in 2014.| It's kind of the defining characteristic of Second and Third World countries that they just have to have the same guy n power, year after year, until he dies. That one fact gives me more appreciation for George Washington than a hundred biographies could. |
| Bouteflika's second and final five-year term as head of state of the OPEC member country runs out in April 2009, but political allies in recent months have urged the 70-year-old to change the basic law to enable him to stay on. |
Two influential groups have added their voice to the calls: the National Rally for Democracy (RND), an anti-Islamist party believed to be close to the military, and a group of veterans of the north African state's independence war against France.
"We support the amending of the constitution to provide a legal framework to President Bouteflika so he can reinforce and guarantee the country's stability," Ahmed Ouyahia, RND leader and a former prime minister, told party officials on Saturday.