Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said yesterday he intends to modify the constitution ahead of an October presidential election seen as a test of the country’s stability.
A rise in tensions in recent weeks between Ouattara and his political rivals has raised fears of election-related violence in Francophone West Africa’s largest economy, where a disputed 2010 vote set off a civil war that killed 3,000 people.
In remarks to foreign diplomats, Ouattara, who has not yet announced whether he will be a candidate in October, said the proposed revisions were intended to make the constitution “more coherent” but did not provide any details.
He did, however, seek to downplay opponents’ fears that he would try to impose age limits on presidential candidates that would prevent his main rivals, former presidents Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bedie, from running.
“I wish to make clear that this is not a manoeuvre to push anyone aside,” he said.
Modifying the constitution requires approval in parliament, which is controlled by Ouattara’s allies.
Ouattara came to power in 2011 after defeating Gbagbo at the polls and Gbagbo’s forces in the ensuing war.
He says he wants to step down after a decade in power and turn over the reins to a new generation but that he will run if Gbagbo and Bedie are candidates.
Alassane Ouattara
