Ivory Coast’s ruling party is likely to urge President Alassane Ouattara to seek a third term in October’s presidential election, after the sudden death of his chosen presidential candidate, a party official said on Thursday, reported Reuters.
Back in March, President Ouattara had announced that he would not run in the upcoming October election after serving for 10 long years in office. He said he would prefer to hand over power to a new generation, despite the fact that a new constitution adopted in 2016 gives him the right to run again.
He designated Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, his closest political ally, as the RHDP party’s presidential candidate after announcing that he himself would not seek a third term.
But Gon Coulibaly’s died on Wednesday, less than a week after he returned to Ivory Coast after two months of medical treatment in France. His sudden death left the RHDP struggling to choose a replacement candidate.
While talking to journalists, RHDP Executive Secretary Adama Bictogo said that the party could ask Ouattara to reverse his decision not to stand.
“It’s clear we have to revisit the analysis he made at the time,” Bictogo said. “The context is new.”
Bictogo added that all options are on the table, including a new candidacy for President Ouattara. He said the party would announce its new candidate a week after Gon Coulibaly’s funeral next Tuesday. The deadline to submit the candidate’s name is Sept 1.
Earlier two sources said RHDP’s leaders had agreed at a closed-door meeting late on Wednesday to press Ouattara to run again.
Ouattara’s first won the election in 2010 when he defeated Laurent Gbagbo, and that led to a brief civil war in Ivory Coast, which killed about 3,000 people died. Political tensions have been rising ahead of October’s poll.
