Algeria Leader to Shorten Term, Call Election Before March

President Liamine Zeroual, battling an Islamic insurgency and economic woes, announced Friday that he will shorten his term and call an early election before March.

Zeroual, 57, made his statement on nationwide television. He didn’t give a date for his resignation, though presumably he will remain in office until a successor is elected.

He was elected to the presidency in November 1995 for a five-year term. Zeroual said he would immediately begin meeting with opposition parties to plan the election.

In his comments, Zeroual said the coming presidential election will help political pluralism take root in the North African nation.

“I believe the moment has come to make a concrete reality of this essential principle of democracy, applying it to the most important institution of the country,” he said.

Though he didn’t elaborate on the reasons for his early resignation, there has been speculation for months that the former general might be forced from office by the military elite that put him in power.

Economic problems have mounted, an anti-government insurgency has gained strength and he has rarely been seen in public since undergoing surgery in March for an arterial blockage in one leg.