After a 10-year run as president, Côte d’Ivoire’s Alassane Ouattara has announced his decision to not seek a third term in the country’s upcoming October 2020 elections. This announcement from the Ivorian leader has put an end to several speculations suggesting that the 78-year-old would face-off against former rivals, including former president Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié, who served as president in the 1990s.
Paving the Way for the Next Generation
According to the Africa Report, while addressing 352 parliamentarians gathered in Congress in the amphitheatre of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Foundation in Yamoussoukro, the country’s capital, the Ivorian president made remarks that put an end to several talks surrounding his candidacy in the 2020 presidential elections.
“Throughout my career, I have always attached particular importance to honouring my commitments. Consequently, I have decided not to be a candidate in 2020,” Ouattara said, to the surprise and applause of those present and the media. “It has been an honour to serve my country.”
Elected president of the Ivory Coast, the world’s leading cocoa producer in 2010, Ouattara’s ascension to power was not smooth with a brief civil war that resulted in about 3,000 deaths, following his processor, Laurent Gbagbo’s reluctance to concede defeat.
“I would like to solemnly announce that I have decided not to be a candidate in the presidential election of 31 October 2020 and to transfer power to a younger generation,” he subsequently published on his Twitter account.
A Change of Heart?
This is not the first time Ouattara has addressed his candidacy in the upcoming elections. Last December, during a state visit to the Hambol, he had said: “I do not wish to be a candidate. It is my firm belief that after two terms in office, the hand must be passed on. Next year I will be 78 years old. What you can do at 68, you can no longer do at 78, let alone 85 or 86. From that point on, I think it is better that all those of my generation decide for themselves not to run for office.”
However, he also pointed out that he might be spurred to continue his run as president if former presidents, Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié threw their hats into the ring.
“If they decide to be candidates, given their track record, their inability to manage Côte d’Ivoire, I will find another solution, including that of continuing,” he stated.
While the former presidents are yet to confirm or deny their candidacy in the upcoming polls, the exiled Guillaume Soro, a former Ivorian Prime Minister and opposition leader, appears to be a name that has been added to the mix.
