Bouteflika appoints director for poll campaign to seek a fifth presidential term

Algeria's president Abdelaziz Bouteflika named Abdelghani Zaalane as the new director of his campaign for a fifth term, state press agency APS said on Saturday. The decision comes a day after tens of thousands of Algerians protested against another term in office for Bouteflika, 81, who is in Switzerland for "periodic medical checks". Opponents say the president, who suffered a stroke in 2013 and has been seen in public only a few times since, is no longer fit for the job.