This is regurgitation of a press release. Has anyone outside of his circle actually seen him? Confirmed his status? Seen him move his eyes? No, not from this reporting. Is it possible he is alive? Yes, of course. Is it possible he is dead? Yes, of course. No evidence to say he is alive, just other people saying he is alive.

If he dies between now and the next election and there is not proof he is alive I think it is reasonable to think they hid a much earlier death for political advantage. It would be incredibly simple to provide proof of life, so simple that not providing it becomes evidence against the proposition. Not confirmation, not certainty, but on balance one should be less certain he is alive than prior to this very suspicious behaviour.