Algeria's president set to seek 5th term

ALGIERS, Algeria

Algeria’s president announced on Sunday he will seek a fifth term in office in the April 18 polls, the state-run Algeria Press Service (APS) reported.

Abdelaziz Bouteflika, 81, announced his candidacy “in a message sent to the nation" set to be published by the APS Sunday.

If he wins another term, Bouteflika plans to propose a political, economic and social platform as well as changes to the Constitution, said APS.

On Saturday, Algeria’s ruling party officially nominated Bouteflika for a fifth term.

Algerian opposition leaders, for their part, have repeatedly urged the aging head of state -- who in 2013 was treated for a blood clot in his brain -- to bow out of the race.