Ivory Coast president announces bid for fourth term after changing constitution

President Alassane Ouattara won a third term in 2020 (AP)

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has said he will seek a fourth term leading the West African nation, which is due to hold elections in October.

His candidacy is contested after he changed the constitution to remove the presidential term limit.

The 83-year-old president declared his plan in a televised announcement.

He won a third term in 2020 after he initially said he was not going to run again.

However, he changed his position following the death of his hand-picked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.

Women and young people from all regions of Cote d’Ivoire, and countless anonymous voices from our neighbourhoods, towns and villages have reached out

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

His most prominent rival, Tidjane Thiam, has already been barred from running by a court on the grounds that he was still a French citizen at the time he declared his candidacy, even though he later renounced his French nationality. Ivorian law bans dual nationals from running for president.

Elections in Ivory Coast have usually been fraught with tension and violence. When Mr Ouattara announced his third term bid, several people were killed in the ensuing violence. There have been protests against the court’s decision to bar Mr Thiam from contesting the election.

Mr Ouattara is the latest among a growing number of leaders in West Africa who remain in power by changing the constitutional term limit.

Coup leaders in the region have used alleged corruption within democratic governments and electoral changes as a pretext to seize power, leading to a split in the regional bloc, Ecowas.

“For those critical of Ecowas and civilian governments, Ouattara’s decision just reinforces the legitimacy crisis everyone in the region is facing. It makes people like Ouattara look like hypocrites,” Nat Powell, Africa analyst at Oxford Analytica, told the Associated Press.

Mr Ouattara’s candidacy drew strong criticism from opposition members.

“Alassane Ouattara does not want to leave power — like any self-respecting dictator,” Guillaume Soro, a former prime minister who was blocked from running in the election, said.

Affi N’guessan, a candidate of the opposition Ivorian Popular Front, called Mr Ouattara’s candidacy “illegal” but said he is confident that “a united opposition will defeat him at the polls”.