Ivory Coast’s president says will seek fourth term in office

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has announced he will seek a fourth term leading the West African nation, as tensions rise over the exclusion of many heavyweight opposition candidates.

Earlier, he had been officially nominated by his ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party as its candidate, but had not yet said if he would contest the October 25 election.

With the country’s most high-profile opposition politicians ruled ineligible, Ouattara is the clear frontrunner.

The 83-year-old president, who has led the country since 2011, declared his plan in a televised announcement on Tuesday.

“For several months, I have received numerous calls from fellow citizens regarding my potential candidacy in the presidential election,” he said.

Referring to the country by its name in French, he went on: “Women and young people from all regions of Cote d’Ivoire, and countless anonymous voices from our neighbourhoods, towns, and villages have reached out.

“In response to those appeals, I announced on June 22 that, as president of all Ivorians, I would, after careful reflection, make a decision guided solely by the best interest of the nation.”

Ouattara won a third term in 2020 after the constitution was changed to reset the presidential term limit. He had said he was not going to run again, but he changed his position following the death of his hand-picked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.