ReutersIvory Coast President Alassane Ouattara’s decision toseek re-election in Octobermeans the world’s top cocoa-producing nation will again have to wait on his promise to pass the baton to a new generation of political leaders Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara’s decision toseek re-election in Octobermeans the world’s top cocoa-producing nation will again have to wait on his promise to pass the baton to a new generation of political leaders But the 83-year-old former international banker is hoping a strong economy and a weak field of challengers will propel him to a fourth term, extending a period of relative stability after the civil war that brought him to power in 2011 Ouattara made his announcement on Tuesday, saying his health was not an issue
With the country’s most high-profile opposition politicians ruledineligible, he is the clear front-runner A U.S.-trained economist whose resume includes stints as governor of the West African central bank (BCEAO) and deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ouattara has long pitched himself as a savvy technocrat capable of delivering steady growth The numbers back him up, with the IMF projecting GDP to increase to 6.3% this year, in line with the average over the past decade He has also proved himself to be a deft political operator, striking deals that have eased his two previous re-election bids and avoided a repeat of the widespread violence that followed his election win over predecessor Laurent Gbagbo in late 2010
Gbagbo’s refusal to accept defeat in that contest triggered a brief civil war that killed more than 3,000 people and only ended with his arrest in a bunker at his Abidjan residence Ouattara’s “primary success has been on the macroeconomic side” and restoring Ivory Coast’s “international influence,” said political analyst Arthur Banga But “there are still democratic challenges to overcome,” he added, citing lingering fears of election-related violence “This means there is work to be done to achieve normalcy.”
Born in Dimbokro in central Ivory Coast on January 1, 1942, Ouattara received a doctorate in economics from the University of Pennsylvania
He earned a reputation for competent economic management as prime minister under founding President Felix Houphouet-Boigny, whose name evokes decades of agricultural export-led prosperity that built palm-lined boulevards and skyscrapers Houphouet-Boigny’s death in 1993, combined with economic challenges related to structural adjustment and the devaluation of the regional currency, gave rise to a more toxic period in Ivorian politics Following a coup in 1999, Ouattara was excluded from running for president the following year on the grounds that one of his parents was from Burkina Faso Gbagbo, who won that election, called Ouattara “a candidate for the foreigners”
A 2002 rebellion against Gbagbo split the country in two, leaving its northern half in the hands of rebels, many of them from Ouattara’s Dioula ethnic group Source: NewZimbabwe
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Source: Newzimbabwe
