By AFP

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New protests broke out in the Algerian capital on Sunday against a fifth term for ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika who faced a midnight deadline to register for April elections.

Chanting "Bouteflika go away", dozens of students rallied in the city centre of Algiers cordoned off by police, AFP journalists said, as similar protests were reported across the country.

President Bouteflika's announcement in February that he would seek another term despite his failing health has unleashed angry protests.

The 82-year-old, who uses a wheelchair and has rarely been seen in public since a 2013 stroke, has remained invisible and silent on the demonstrations since they broke out last month.

Adding to concerns about his fitness for office, the president flew to Switzerland a week ago for what his office described as "routine medical checks".

Campaign manager

On Saturday, he sacked his veteran campaign manager Abdelmalek Sellal, a former prime minister who successfully oversaw President Bouteflika's past three re-election bids, state media said, without giving a reason.

Mr Sellal was removed ahead of a deadline of midnight (2300 GMT) Sunday for contenders to register for the presidential race, and replaced as campaign manager by Transport Minister Abdelghani Zaalene.

There are no legal requirements for candidates to be physically present to submit their bid to the constitutional council, but in 2014 President Bouteflika registered in person.

Police deployed massively around the council's headquarters in Algiers on Sunday and the road leading to it was blocked, while journalists seeking to cover the arrival of candidates were locked in a room.

In the run-up to the deadline six candidates had registered, including prominent retired general Ali Ghediri, while businessman Rachid Nekkaz, who has cultivated a mass following among young people, said he would follow suit on Sunday afternoon.

Several cities

An analyst who declined to be identified said Mr Sellal's sacking could be a tactic to calm the growing protest movement against Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term.

An editorial Sunday in El-Mouhajid newspaper, a mouthpiece of the government, suggested that President Bouteflika would not pull out of the race under pressure from the street, saying protesters will be "disappointed".

The sacking came after days of protests that have seen Algerians, including lawyers and students, take to the streets of several cities, including Algiers where protests have been banned since 2001.

The first rally against President Bouteflika's bid for re-election drew tens of thousands on February 22 with protesters chanting mostly "No fifth mandate".

The scale of the protests has surprised many in Algeria and represents the biggest challenge in years to the authorities.