Protesters rally at Algerian embassy over president's re-election bid

Dozens of people protested outside the Algerian embassy in Ottawa Sunday over the news that 82-year-old Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the country's long-serving president, will once again seek re-election.

Bouteflika has run the country since 1999, but has rarely made public appearances since suffering a stroke in 2013.

• Thousands call for Algeria's president to step down in largest protests since Arab Spring

His opponents say there is no evidence he is fit to lead Algeria, citing his poor health, chronic corruption and a lack of economic reforms to tackle unemployment that exceeds 25 per cent among people under the age of 30.

Tens of thousands of people have been protesting in cities across Algeria — the largest anti-government demonstrations since the 2011 Arab Spring movement.

Leila Khellef was among those who attended Sunday's protest at the Wilbrod Street embassy.

"We offer our full support to the Algerian people, to their youth, who have shown that they are legitimate — unlike its leaders," Khellef told Radio-Canada in a French-language interview.

Another protest Sunday in Montreal, which has a significant Algerian-Canadian population, drew more than a thousand people.

Algerian authorities say that Bouteflika, a veteran of the country's independence war against France, retains a firm grip on affairs despite the rarity of his public appearances.

The election is set for April 18, 2019.