President Abdelaziz Bouteflika speech — delivered on his behalf — to mark the anniversary of ‘Victory Day’, and the French and Algerian signing to end the War of Liberation. Bouteflika has not spoken directly to the country since before his stroke, in 2013.

The speech was an enigmatic call to the political class to embark on a ’race to power’. He spoke of the need for ‘confrontation’ between political parties, which he invited ‘to contribute to a democratic movement, saying: ‘It is necessary that our society continues to promote the culture of rights and freedoms and the preservation of its collective and supreme interests.’ His speech went on to say that it was ‘the duty of everyone to contribute to this pluralist democratic movement by placing Algeria and the supreme interests of its people above all other considerations.’ The message was deliberately enigmatic and left open to many interpretations.

His call for a ‘race to power’ could be interpreted as an invitation to political parties to prepare for the presidential election that is scheduled for next year. But his request that people and parties place the general interest of the country above personal considerations could also be interpreted as an indirect announcement of his willingness to stay in power. The dialogue was noticeably vague and perhaps deliberately ambiguous in not revealing his intentions with regard to next year’s presidential election and the possibility of him seeking a fifth term, which has led to suspicion among political circles.

The response of most of the opposition parties was to ignore the president’s speech. They have no faith in Bouteflika’s words. They point out that there has always been a disconnect between what Bouteflika says and political reality. His Presidency has never allowed for fair political competition, and has no respect for political plurality or democracy. One example of this has been the efforts to ensure that there is no independent electoral management body. The leader of the Jil Jadid opposition party, Soufiane Djilali said: ‘The Presidency fears a massive boycott of a fifth mandate. This is merely an attempt to get the opposition parties to involve themselves in the election.’

For the moment, the silence and mystery surrounding next year’s presidential election continues.

This segment is taken from our weekly Algeria Politics & Security analysis. If you are interested in receiving a free trial, then please contact our Africa team.