David Porter

The official announcement on 22 February that Abdelaziz Bouteflika will now run for a fourth term as Algerian president in the 17 April election has sent one more shockwave through the society.

Quite tragically, Egypt now seems to be following the same bloody path as Algeria in the 1990s.

5 July 2012 marks Algeria’s 50th anniversary of national independence from 132 years of the French colonial regime.

On the verge of celebrating 50 years of national independence in July, Algeria’s military-dominated regime faces in May a potentially humiliating and dangerous blow through a massive electoral boycott.

While Tunisia had its first post-‘revolution’ election on 23 October and Egypt will follow on 28 November , an infamous but relevant date in Algerian history is also rapidly approaching.