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ALGIERS, Jan. 18-- An announcement made by Algerian president on Friday to organize presidential elections on April 18 has put an end to the possibility of postponing elections. "The presidential decree, which calls for presidential elections on April 18, is the first indication that there will be regular periodic elections," Mustapha Sayej, a professor of political science and international relations with the University of Algiers, told Xinhua. The professor said that the Algerian political arena has been dominated by three main trends. The first one is represented in some opposition forces, which were demanding the postponement of the presidential elections. Another trend suggested setting up a transition cabinet, as if Algeria was facing a political vacuum. The third trend was betting on chaos in streets through manipulating some social cases. Meanwhile, some opposition parties suggested several political initiatives to solve this political stalemate. The most noticeable initiative is the one put forward by the Islamist Movement for Society of Peace, the largest opposition party and the third power in the parliament. The initiative suggests postponing the presidential elections for one year while launching major political reforms that would result in setting up a national unity government, dissolving the parliament and then holding general elections supervised by an independent committee. | 
