Ivory Coast: President Ouattara to run for fourth term in October election ⁰

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said Tuesday he will seek a fourth term in Ivory Coast’s October 25 election, as tensions rise over the exclusion of many heavyweight opposition candidates.

He had been earlier officially nominated by the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party as its candidate, but had not yet said if he would contest.

“I am a candidate because the constitution of our country allows me to run for another term and my health permits it,” the 83-year-old said, adding that the world’s top cocoa producer was “facing unprecedented security, economic, and monetary challenges, the management of which requires experience”.

The 83-year-old president declared his plan in a televised announcement. He won a third term in 2020 after he initially said he wasn’t going to run again. However, he changed his position following the death of his hand-picked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.

The opposition has accused the authorities of choosing their opponents by legal means, but the government insists the judiciary acts independently.

The two main opposition parties have launched a joint campaign to demand the reinstatement of their barred leaders ahead of the presidential election.

This alliance brings together the African People’s Party of Ivory Coast (PPACI) – led by former president Laurent Gbagbo – and the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), the country’s largest opposition force, headed by former international banker Tidjane Thiam.

Thiame has already been barred from running by a court because he has dual citizenship.

Ouattara’s candidacy is contested after he reset the presidential term limit in a constitutional change.

Source: Reuters