(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) giers April 17 - Polling booths opened here Thursday for 23 million citizens to cast votes in the presidential elections to decide who will lead Algeria for the next five years. National Liberation Front's ailing incumbent 77-year-old Abdelaziz Bouteflika is widely considered to win a fourth term in office and extend his 15-year rule. Five other candidates in the fifth plural presidential election in country's history are former prime minister Ali Benflis Secretary-General of Workers Party Louisa Hanoune the only woman candidate Abdelaziz Belaid Moussa Touati and Ali Fewzi Rebaine. In order to enable the 22880678 voters on the electoral rolls in Algeria and abroad to vote authorities mobilised 11756 polling centres and 49971 polling stations including 167 mobile stations in addition to some 460000 civil servants for the April 17 election according to the official figures. Algerians living abroad cast votes their ballots April 13 ahead of the actual polling day. A total of 1009285 voters abroad are eligible to vote and polling for them runs from April 12 to 17 at 398 polling stations including 52 in France. Voting began on Monday for the nomads in the remotest areas in some provinces of the country at 167 mobile polling stations mobilized towards that end. Some 59000 voters among the nomadic population are involved in these operations which will continue until today. The Election Commission will announce results Friday. It will hold a second round for two candidates with highest number of votes in the first round if no candidate gets majority.
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