Leading Algerian Opposition Party FFS To Boycott April 9 Vote

ALGIERS (AFP)--A leading Algerian opposition party announced Friday it would boycott Apr. 9 presidential elections and called on voters to do the same.

The move by the Socialist Forces Front, or FFS, which had been expected, followed President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's announcement Thursday that he would run for a third term after the constitution was changed to allow him to do so.

A statement from the FFS national council said it was evident from the preparations being made for the poll that "the regime cannot and will not change."

Universal suffrage doesn't exist in Algeria, it concluded.

FFS leader Karim Tabbou told the national council meeting late Thursday a boycott of the polls was "a revolutionary act," the statement said.

The refusal of the Algerian people to take part in a "masquerade" would be a proof of "electoral dissidence" and a break with the current regime, he said.

Bouteflika faces little opposition because his main challengers have decided to boycott the poll since parliament passed a constitutional amendment in November ending the two-term presidential limit.

Former president Liamine Zeroual, who led the country from 1995 to 1998, has already refused to stand and former prime minister Rheda Malek quit politics entirely. A leader of the country's Islamist movement, Abdallah Djaballah, has also announced he won't take part in the elections.

The FFS, founded by Hocine Ait Ahmed, boycotted the last presidential elections in 2004.

The political void left by a lack of solid opposition could spark massive voter abstention, according to media in Algeria, where legislative elections in 2007 drew only 35% of voters.