Ivorian vice-president Daniel Kablan Duncan has resigned, the cabinet of President Alassane Ouattarra announced on Monday July 13.

"Vice-President Daniel Kablan Duncan submitted his resignation to the President of the Republic (...) for reasons of personal convenience on February 27 (...). After several interviews, the last of which took place on July 7, President Alassane Ouattara took note and proceeded on July 8 to the signing of a decree terminating the duties of Mr. Kablan Duncan, "said a statement read by Patrick Achi, current secretary general of the Ivorian presidency. 

"The President of the Republic would like to pay tribute to a great servant of the State, a man of power and commitment", according to the text. 

If the rumors of Daniel Kablan Duncan's resignation have been circulating for several days, she remains a surprise. Until recently, he was considered close to President Ouattara even though he belonged to the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), an allied group of Ouattara before going into opposition in 2018.

Daniel Kablan Duncan has always been a heavyweight of power, successively holding the posts of Minister of Foreign Affairs (2011-2012) then Prime Minister with the Economy and Finance portfolio from 2012 to 2017. He became in January 2017 the first vice-president in the history of Côte d'Ivoire, a post created with the new Constitution of 2016.

A shaken political deal

The vice-president's resignation comes a few days after the death last Wednesday of Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly. Candidate of the party in power for the presidential election scheduled for October, the head of government died following an illness, less than a week after his return from France where he had gone in early May for a "control medical".

The absence of Daniel Kablan Duncan at the airport when the Prime Minister returned had been noticed. Ceremonies of homage to the Prime Minister who are to be buried on Friday are due to begin on Tuesday. 

The death of Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who had been nominated by his party candidate Alassane Ouattara for the presidential election in October, completely changed the political game, the ruling party now having to find another candidate. Many believe that President Ouattara, who announced in March that he would not seek a third term, could ultimately be a candidate. Former President Henri Konan Bédié will represent the PDCI in this election which promises to be tense.

With AFP and Reuters

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

I subscribe

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app

google-play-badge_FR