Ivory Coast: President Alassane Ouattara invests in October presidential candidate

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

In Côte d'Ivoire, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara was officially invested, this Saturday, August 22, in Abidjan, his party's candidate for the presidential election on October 31. He will thus seek a third term at the head of the country and will defend the colors of the RHDP, after the brutal death of his designated dolphin and ex-Prime Minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, and after obtaining the green light from the militants of his party, gathered at the Houphouët-Boigny stadium.

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With our special envoy to Abidjan,   Pierre Pinto

It is in a stadium full of tens of thousands of activists often transported by bus from all regions of the country that President Alassane Ouattara obtained the full support of RHDP activists. A stadium packed and emptied, half an hour after the end of this investiture convention.

Alassane Ouattara began by paying tribute and observing a minute of silence in memory of the one he calls "  his son  ", Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the nominated candidate of the RHDP, struck down by a heart attack on July 8.

He once again presented his candidacy as a "sacrifice", therefore dictated by an "exceptional situation", explaining that the death of Amadou Gon Coulibaly had caused exceptional circumstances, which it was then no longer possible to organize. primaries, which had to be done quickly.

“  I therefore resolved to accept your call,  ” the president told his activists.

Regarding the legality of his highly contested candidacy here, Alassane Ouattara affirmed that there was no retroactivity provided for by the Constitution of the Third Republic and that therefore nothing prevents him from being a candidate.

“  Who can dare say that he knows the Constitution better than I do ?  », Assen the president candidate.

The Ivorian head of state also alluded to the violence that has recently inflamed certain cities in the country since the announcement of his candidacy on August 6.

“  No need to put tree trunks, smash buses or burn houses to prevent someone from being a candidate. They do this because they are afraid,  ”said Alassane Ouattara to cheers from the crowd.

Still concerning his political opponents, President Ouattara added: "  Because we cannot win, we want to burn the country  ".

Confident in himself, sure of his victory, the outgoing president felt that his victory would come from the first round.

“  On October 31, it will be a knockout,  ” he concluded, facing a white-hot crowd.

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• Ivory Coast
• Alassane Ouattara

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