Amadou Gon Coulibaly - The African Mirror

May

2021

Ivory Coast Prime Minister in hospital

ANGE ABOA IVORY Coast Prime Minister Patrick Achi, 65, has been admitted to hospital in Paris for medical tests, two sources close to him said. Achi, a close confidant of President Alassane Ouattara, was named prime minister in March following the death of the West African cocoa producer's second premier in less than eight months. The sources said Achi was being treated for "severe fatigue" suffered since his appointment in March. Achi replaced Hamed Bakayoko, who died of cancer at 56. Bakayoko had replaced Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who died following cardiac issues last July. A government spokesman was not immediately…

Mar

2021

By The African Mirror

Shock and uncertainty in Ivory Coast

NEWS

MEDIA COULIBALY and ANGE ABOA IVORY Coast faced shock and uncertainty following the death of Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, the West African nation's second premier to die in office in less than eight months. A close ally of President Alassane Ouattara, Bakayoko, who died of cancer a few days after his 56th birthday, was appointed prime minister in July 2020 after the death of his predecessor Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Ouattara's handpicked successor. Although Ouattara named his chief of staff Patrick Achi as interim prime minister on Monday while Bakayoko was in hospital, Bakayoko's passing leaves a vacuum for Ouattara to…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast council approves President Ouattara for third term bid

NEWS

IVORY Coast's Constitutional Council ruled that President Alassane Ouattara is eligible to run for a third term in the October 31 presidential election, even as opponents said his candidacy jeopardises the West African country's democracy. Violent protests have rocked Ivory Coast since Ouattara, in power since 2010, announced his candidacy. Over a dozen people have died in clashes between protesters and police since August. The constitution says the president can only stay in power for two terms, but Ouattara has argued that the publication of a new constitution in 2016 reset his presidency. The unrest has political observers worried that…

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

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…