Ivory Coast: Former president endorses Ouattara re-election bid in 2015

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara. PHOTO/File

Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) President Alassane Ouattara on Wednesday received the endorsement of former president Henri Konan Bedie for re-election in 2015, boosting his chances of a second term and final term.

Support from Bedie, who also heads Ouattara’s Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, was previously uncertain and some had speculated that his party would field a separate candidate.

“Before the nation assembled here, I am giving clear guidance to support your candidacy at the next presidential election,” Bedie said, addressing Ouattara in a speech before political leaders in Bedie’s home town of Daoukro.

In Ivory Coast’s last presidential poll in 2010, defeated candidate former president Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept the result, leading to a post-election conflict that killed some 3,000 people.

Gbagbo now faces charges of crimes against humanity and is currently awaiting trial.

Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front has not yet named a candidate for the 2015 elections.

Since taking office in 2011, 72-year-old Ouattara is credited with fostering an economic renaissance in the country – recording growth of over 9 percent in the past two years.

Source: Reuters