Alassane Ouattara - The African Mirror

Aug

2020

Ivory Coast president sees growth slowing to 1.8% in 2020

IVORY Coast's economic growth is expected to slow to 1.8% in 2020 from a projected 7.2% due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, according to President Alassane Ouattara. Several sectors of the Ivorian economy including agriculture, construction, transport and tourism have been hit by the outbreak that has slowed gross domestic product (GDP) in the world's top cocoa producer, Ouattara said. Ivory Coast's GDP growth had averaged around 8% between 2012 and 2019, Ouattara said during a speech at the annual general meeting of the African Development Bank. - Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast’s Ouattara applies to run for third term amid protests

NEWS

ANGE ABOA IVORY Coast President Alassane Ouattara on Monday submitted his application to run for a third term after more protests by opponents who say the constitution forbids him to contest the October election. Over the weekend several shops and a timber truck were torched during ethnic violence between Ouattara supporters and opposition in the southern city of Divo, a cocoa-growing hub, according to images shared on social media. It is not yet clear what casualties the latest unrest may have caused. Five people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in clashes between protesters and police since Ouattara,…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast President Ouattara to run for third term

NEWS

LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY IVORY Coast President Alassane Ouattara has revealed that he would seek re-election in October, formally accepting the ruling party's nomination to be its candidate and defying opponents who say the constitution forbids a third term. Ouattara, who has governed since 2011, said in March he would not run again. But his preferred successor, then-prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died in July, leading the party to ask Ouattara to reconsider. The election is seen as the greatest test yet of the tenuous stability achieved since a brief civil war in 2010 and 2011 killed about 3,000 people following Ouattara's…

Aug

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast’s former PM named by Gbagbo’s party as presidential candidate

NEWS

THE party of Ivory Coast's former president Laurent Gbagbo named his one-time prime minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan as its candidate for the October presidential vote, ending speculation Gbagbo might return from abroad to stand. The election is seen as the biggest test yet of the tenuous stability achieved since a civil war in 2010-11 in which around 3,000 people were killed, sparked by Gbagbo's refusal to step down from office after a disputed election. "I am a winning candidate and we will win," N'Guessan told members of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party ahead of their vote for his candidacy.…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast defence minister Bakayoko named prime minister

NEWS

IVORY Coast President Alassane Ouattara has appointed Defence Minister Hamed Bakayoko as prime minister after his predecessor died suddenly this month, the presidency has announced. The death of former Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who had been handpicked by Ouattara to succeed him, left his ruling party scrambling to find a replacement three months ahead of the presidential election. The Oct. 31 vote is seen as crucial for the stability of Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, which has spent Ouattara's decade in office rebuilding from a brief civil war that followed his first election win in 2010. Bakayoko,…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast election body promises fair October vote

NEWS

IVORY COAST's electoral commission has promised a fair election as the ruling RHDP party prepared to ask President Alassane Ouattara to stand again, defying opponents who say he does not have the right to a third term under the constitution. The election is seen as the greatest test yet of the tenuous stability achieved since a brief civil war killed about 3,000 in 2010 and 2011. The election commission's role is particularly sensitive. A dispute over Ouattara's 2010 poll victory sparked the post-election conflict and opposition parties have raised concern this time about the independence of local election offices, which…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Former Ivory Coast minister to run for president in break with ruling party

NEWS

MARCEL Amon-Tanoh, a longtime ally of President Alassane Ouattara and until recently his foreign minister, declared on Wednesday he would run in Ivory Coast's presidential election in October, breaking with the ruling party. The campaign was thrown into uncertainty earlier this month when Ouattara's choice to succeed him after a decade in power, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died suddenly, leaving the ruling RHDP party scrambling to choose a replacement candidate. The October 31 election is seen as a key test of stability for Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer. Ouattara's first election win in 2010 sparked a civil…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast ruling party says it has asked president to run again

NEWS

IVORY Coast's ruling party said on Monday it had asked President Alassane Ouattara to stand for a third term after the death of his chosen successor. Ouattara, 78, had said he would step down and named his close ally, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, as the RHDP party's candidate for the October 31 ballot. But Gon Coulibaly died on July 8, leaving the party without a candidate in the run-up to an election that is expected to test political stability in the world's top cocoa-producing nation. The vote is expected to be the most hotly contested since 2010, when Ouattara's…