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The 83-year-old president said both his health and the country’s Constitution allowed him to serve another term. Ouattara has been president since 2011
Ivory Coast’s long-standing leader and current President Alassane Ouattara has announced he will be contesting for a fourth term in office in the ensuing presidential elections. This puts an end to the speculation of his candidature.
The 83-year-old president said both his health and the country’s Constitution allowed him to serve another term. Ouattara has been president since 2011. He said that the country was facing “unprecedented security, economic, and monetary challenges and claimed that he could only salvage the situation.
For months, Ouattara’s presidential majority has been calling for his candidacy at large demonstrations across the country. But the announcement of his candidature is likely to spark anger among the Ivorian opposition, which boycotted the previous election in protest against his third term, which it deemed unconstitutional.
In 2016, Ouattara reset the presidential term limit by changing the Constitution to allow himself to stand in the 2020 polls. The president will likely face several opposition figures in the polls, assuming they obtain the necessary approval to stand.
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Both the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) leader, Tidjane Thiam, and former President Laurent Gbagbo, who leads the African People’s Party of Ivory Coast (PPACI), are currently contesting their exclusion from the electoral list. The two main opposition parties have launched a joint campaign to demand the reinstatement of their barred leaders ahead of the presidential election. The first round of the election will take place on 25th October.
