Ivory Coast’s 83-year-old President Alassane Ouattara Thursday said he was “eager to continue serving” his country but had not yet decided if he will seek a fourth term in October.Ouattara has been at the helm of the world’s top cocoa producer since 2011, and had said he wanted to hand over leadership to a new generation.As the 2020 elections loomed, Ouattara signalled he would retire from politics but his anointed successor, then prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died suddenly.He then sought — and won — a third presidential term, sparking bitter criticism that he was circumventing term limits under the constitution.”As of today, I have not yet taken a decision. But I can reassure you that I am in good health and eager to continue serving my country,” Ouattara said in his New Year’s wishes to the diplomatic corps, as government officials applauded. He added that half a dozen candidates and potential successors from his Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party were in the room, without giving names.”Today, I can tell you that I was right to accept my party’s offer,” he said, referring to his third presidential term.The ruling RHDP has urged the former World Bank official to stand for re-election in the election slated for October 25, saying he was their “natural candidate”.The West African nation of 32 million people has endured several election-related crises, including violence in 2010 and 2011 that killed around 3,000 people after the then president Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to Ouattara after a highly controversial vote.Ouattara on Thursday was quick to reassure voters, promising “peaceful, democratic and transparent” elections this year.Former president Gbagbo, 79, who ruled the country for a decade between 2000 and 2011, was named as his African People’s Party (PPA) candidate for the election. But he is banned from running because of a 20-year jail term from which he was pardoned. His ex-wife Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, 75, has also announced she would run.Tidjane Thiam, the 61-year-old main opposition leader, is expected to be selected to stand for president by his Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI).He would first face internal competition within his party from 60-year-old former trade minister Jean-Louis Billon, who has announced his candidacy.Meanwhile the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) has named former prime minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan, 72 and in office from 2000 to 2003, as its frontrunner.
Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:30:30 GMT
