By Abderrazek Ben Abdallah
ALGIERS (AA) – Algeria's Movement for the Society of Peace has revealed its intention to field a candidate in upcoming presidential elections slated for April.
"Our first choice would be to field the head of our movement in the election," leading movement member Abderrazek Makri told Anadolu Agency on Monday.
He said his movement, the largest Islamist party to be aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, would also consider an electoral alliance with the opposition.
"If the opposition shows readiness to agree on one platform or one candidate, we would be ready to support them and make concessions," he said.
"Otherwise, we will boycott elections if we find the conditions suitable for competitive elections to be lacking," Makri added.
The movement fielded a candidate in Algeria's 1995 presidential election in which movement founder Mahfoud Nahnah came in second behind president Liamine Zéroual.
The Movement for the Society of Peace had been part of a ruling coalition with President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's National Liberation Front and the National Rally for Democracy, but pulled out of the coalition in 2012 to protest the slow pace of political reform.
