ALGERIA OPPOSITION UNVEILS NEW COALITION

A group of Algerian opposition parties on 21 April unveiled a new coalition aimed at countering President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who won a fourth term as president in last week’s polls. In a statement, the new coalition – comprised of 13 political parties who backed Ali Benflis, Bouteflika’s main electoral rival – said it did not recognise the results of last Thursday’s election, in which Bouteflika clinched a fourth five-year term as president. “The will of the public was usurped in this election,” the coalition statement read. “An immoral system was used… to ensure that the regime would maintain its grip on power.”