By NOELA EBOB BISONG
Alassane Ouattara, President of Ivory Coast, is currently being celebrated across the continent and beyond, for his decision not to run in the country’s next presidential election billed for October this year.
The landmark announcement was made by Ouattara on Thursday, March 5, 2020 as he addressed the Ivorian Congress.
“I would like to solemnly announce that I will not be a candidate in the October 31, 2020 presidential election and I will transfer power to the younger generation,” Ouattara announced. The news was received with heavy applause.
“Côte d’Ivoire belongs to the next generations. But as I see hesitations in some of my generation, that’s why I didn’t announce my decision. But don’t worry, my intention is to hand over power to a new generation,” he said.
Ouattara, first elected in 2010 and then re-elected in 2015, had kept Ivorians guessing over his political future, saying last year that he could run again if his traditional rivals were candidates.
quitting stage after 8 years
“I want my generation to understand our time is up, and we should all step aside. But if they decide to run, I’ll run too,” the 77 year-old had said last year, though not directly mentioning those he was referring to.
Ouattara’s two main rivals, Gbagbo and another former president, Henri Konan Bedie, have not yet said whether they will be candidates in October.
October’s presidential election looms as a major challenge for the West African country after its 2010 vote ended in violence between political rivals that killed 3,000 people.
Ouattara in 2011 ousted the then-president, Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to step down after losing elections in a standoff that triggered violent street clashes.
Reacting to Ouattara’s decision, French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: “I salute the historic decision of President Ouattara, a statesman and man of his word, not to run in the next presidential election.”
This announcement comes at a time when the leader, who has been in office for 8 years, was unclear for several months about his candidacy for the next presidential election.
Next elections are scheduled for October 2020, nine years after the post-electoral crisis that marked President Ouattara’s arrival in power. For the time being, only Guillaume Soro, a former close relative of Alassane Ouattara, has openly declared his intention to run for the 2020 presidential election.
Political tensions have been on the rise again in recent months after the government issued an arrest warrant for Guillaume Soro, a presidential candidate and former rebel leader. His forces swept Ouattara to power in 2011 but he has since fallen out with the president.
Leaders from across the political spectrum welcomed Ouattara’s announcement, hailing him as an exemplary African leader worth emulating by other African leaders.