Bouteflika re-elected in landslide

Apr 10,2009 00:00 by UPI

ALGIERS, Algeria -- Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika won a third term in a landslide with 90.24 percent of the vote, election officials announced Friday.

A reported 74 percent of the voters turned out, officials said, despite the anticipated runaway, a boycott by some opposition parties and charges of election fraud.

The president faced relatively unknown challengers and had a well-funded campaign, the BBC said.

The vote was relatively peaceful although two soldiers were wounded in a bombing at a polling station.

In November, the Constitution was changed to allow Bouteflika, 72, to seek a third five-year term.