ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) Algeria's ruling National Liberation Front party on Saturday nominated the country's longtime leader, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, as its presidential candidate for an election in April.
Bouteflika, who has been in power for 14 years, was hospitalized for three months in France earlier this year after a stroke, and only recently has he reappeared in public life. He still has not announced whether he will run, and his visible frailty had led to speculation that he would not seek a fourth term.
"The country has need of his experience and his political vision," said Amar Saadani, the head of the FLN, which has a majority in parliament and has been the premier party in the North African nation since independence from France in 1962.