Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara on Tuesday named Tiemoko Meyliet Kone, governor of the West African central bank, as the country’s new vice president, reported Reuters.
The vice president’s position has been vacant since Daniel Kablan Duncan resigned on July 8, 2020, the day president Ouattar’s previously handpicked successor and former Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly died suddenly. Ouattara decided to run for election again and won a third term in November that year.
Until his appointment on Tuesday, Tiemoko was president of the Central bank of West African states also known as the BCEAO. His appointment as vice president marks the start of a race to succeed President Ouattara, 80, who will step down after serving three terms in 2025.
While addressing a joint session of Parliament on Tuesday, Ivory Coast’s President Ouattara also reappointed Patrick Achi, 66, as prime minister, which vies with the deputy president as the second-most powerful position in the West African nation’s government.
Achi’s reappointment came a week after he and his government stepped down to prepare for a slimmed-down cabinet.
Last week, Ouattara said he will reduce the number of ministers to “strengthen government effectiveness and bearing in mind the current world economic situation.” The Ivory Coast’s cabinet currently consists of 41 people.
The president stressed that it was imperative to reduce state spending and re-focus on social and security resilience.
Ouattara came to power in 2011 following an election the previous year that sparked a conflict when the defeated incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, refused to concede.
Opposition groups said Ouattara violated the constitution, which limits presidents to two terms when he ran again in 2020. Ouattara maintained that the approval of a new constitution in 2016 allowed him to restart his mandate.
The next presidential election is scheduled to be held in 2025.
