Algeria's Bouteflika decides to quit presidential election

ALGIERS, March 11 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Monday announced his decision to give up his candidacy for the upcoming presidential election, official APS news agency reported.

In a message sent to the nation, Bouteflika said he will not seek a fifth term in the presidential election, adding that the presidential election slated for April 18 will be postponed for an indefinite period.

Bouteflika said his withdrawal from the election was a response to the continuous popular rallies across the country.

He also decided to conduct a cabinet reshuffle, arrange an independent national conference to prepare for and adopt reforms to form a new political system, and draft a new constitution for referendum.

The date of the presidential election will be decided during the conference, and the polls will be monitored by a new independent panel headed by an independent figure, Bouteflika noted.

Millions of Algerians have been staging rallies across the country since Feb. 22 to force the 82-year-old ailing president to renounce his intention to run for the presidency.

Meanwhile, retailers and merchants have closed their shops, and workers of several state-run companies and institutions have held sit-ins in response to calls for general strike.

Opposition parties have been holding consultations for a consensus over what steps to take, in a bid to force the regime to take into consideration the demand of the wide-scale protest.

Bouteflika returned home on Sunday after three weeks' stay in Geneva for medical checks.

He suffered a stroke in 2013, and was re-elected in 2014 for a fourth term until 2019.