Algeria's Bouteflika poised to win re-election

[World News]

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By Patrick Markey ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algerians vote on Thursday in an election President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is widely expected to win after 15 years in power even though he has spoken rarely in public since suffering a stroke last year. With the dominant National Liberation Front (FLN) party, allied movements and unions behind him, Bouteflika, 77, is almost assured victory and another five years governing the North African OPEC state. Algeria is seen as a partner in Washington's campaign against Islamist militancy in the Maghreb and as a stable supplier of around a fifth of Europe's gas imports. But concerns about Bouteflika's health and how Algeria manages any transition have raised questions about stability in a region where neighboring Libya, Tunisia and Egypt are still struggling with turmoil after 2011 Arab Spring revolts.

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