Leaders from Ivory Coast’s ruling party agreed at a closed-door meeting late Wednesday to press President Alassane Ouattara to seek a third term in October’s election following the sudden death of Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, two sources said.
Ouattara announced in March that he would not stand for re-election after 10 years in office and designated Gon Coulibaly, his closest political ally, as the RHDP party’s candidate.
Gon Coulibaly’s death on Wednesday, less than a week after he returned to Ivory Coast from an extended medical leave in France for heart issues, left the RHDP scrambling to choose a replacement.
The election is expected to be the most hotly contested since 2010, when Ouattara’s victory over incumbent Laurent Gbagbo sparked a brief civil war in which 3,000 people died.
A small group of senior RHDP leaders, presided over by the party’s executive secretary, Adama Bictogo, met informally on Wednesday, said the two sources, both party members, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We think unanimously that only President Ouattara can carry the flag. He alone can unite us,” said one of the sources.
“It is true that he said he did not want to be a candidate, but the situation has changed.”
The deadline to submit the candidate’s name is July 31.
The presidency declined to comment yesterday.
Ouattara has previously said he would prefer to hand over power to a new generation but that he has the right to run again under a new constitution adopted in 2016.
His opponents dispute that.
“He has always been a unanimous choice within his own camp. But (running again) would be extremely dangerous, particularly vis-a-vis the opposition, which would find a common enemy,” said Rinaldo Depagne, International Crisis Group’s West Africa project director.
The RHDP candidate will face off against former president Henri Konan Bedie, who declared his candidacy last month, while other politicians could join the race ahead of the filing deadline.
Coulibaly died after attending a cabinet meeting. He was 61.
“I am deeply saddened to announce that Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the head of government, left us early this afternoon after taking part in a cabinet meeting,” Patrick Achi, secretary general to the Ivory Coast presidency, said on public television.
His death creates huge uncertainty over the election in the world’s top cocoa grower, which has returned to normalcy after years of political turbulence and a low-level civil war.
“I pay tribute to my younger brother, my son Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who was my closest collaborator for 30 years,” Ouattara said in a statement.
“I salute the memory of a statesman, a man of great loyalty, dedication and love for his homeland,” he added.
Following the closure of Ivory Coast’s borders due to the coronavirus pandemic, Coulibaly – who had a heart transplant in 2012 – travelled to France on May 2 for medical care.
He received a stent about a week after arriving in France following an exam of his coronary arteries.
“I am back to take my place by the side of the president, to continue the task of developing and building our country,” Coulibaly said on arrival at the airport in Abidjan last Thursday.
A father of five who earned an engineering degree in France, he had a reputation for hard work and a temper that led to his nickname, “The Lion” of Korhogo, the country’s fourth largest city, which was his native place.
Coulibaly wielded great influence among traditional leaders of the Senoufo ethic group, from which he came.
But critics said he lacked charisma and his nomination for president did not go down well with several leaders of his ruling coalition.
His many positions since starting out in politics in 1994 at Ouattara’s side included technical adviser, senior civil servant, deputy and mayor of Korhogo, agriculture minister, cabinet minister and finally prime minister.