ALGIERS, Algeria
\nAlgerian poet Azzedine Mihoubi, a former minister and presidential candidate, has announced he is quitting politics, denying claims he will challenge President Abdelmadjid Tebboune\u2019s re-election bid in 2024.
\n\u201cMy name has been cited by several publications … alongside speculation that has no truth to it,\u201d Mihoubi said in a message shared this week on social media.
\n\u201cI wish to refute all these allegations,\u201d wrote the 64-year-old, who said back in 2020 he would relieve himself of his duties in the Democratic National Rally, formerly one of Algeria\u2019s ruling parties, to focus on writing.
\n\u201cI publicly reiterate once more my withdrawal from all party political activity.\u201d
\nA prolific journalist, writer and poet, Mihoubi was a member of parliament from 1997 to 2002.
\nHe then held various posts in state institutions, including as head of public radio and the national library, before entering the government of longtime ruler Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was unseated in 2019.
\nAfter serving as communications minister from 2008 to 2010, he became culture minister in 2015 until March 31 that year, two days before Bouteflika resigned in the face of mass street protests.
\nMihoubi stood for president in the election that followed Bouteflika\u2019s ouster but lost to Tebboune.
\nIn his statement, Mihoubi said he had dedicated himself \u201ccompletely to writing and culture … contributing to the consolidation of the state, its identity, cultural pluralism and influence on the international level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ALGIERS, Algeria Algerian poet Azzedine Mihoubi, a former minister and presidential candidate, has announced he is quitting politics, denying claims he will challenge President Abdelmadjid Tebboune\u2019s re-election bid in 2024. \u201cMy name has been cited by several publications … alongside speculation that has no truth to it,\u201d Mihoubi said in a message shared this week […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":306308,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-306265","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n