YAMOUSSOUKRO,
Ivory Coast
The
government of Ivory Coast said Wednesday that it had officially set the first
round in upcoming presidential elections for October 31, pressing ahead even
after deadly protest clashes.
Official campaigning will start
on October 15 and end on October 29 according to a decree adopted by the
cabinet, confirming the timetable authorities have been trailing for months.
Last week protests against
incumbent Alassane Ouattara's announcement that he would run again despite
already having served two terms descended into three days of violence, leaving
six dead and around 100 injured.
The constitution limits presidents to two terms, but the 78-year-old -- first elected in 2010 and returned in 2015 -- and his supporters argue that a 2016 constitutional tweak reset the clock.
Ouattara had planned to hand over
to his prime minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, before he died of a heart attack
in July.
Challengers to the incumbent
include 86-year-old former president Henri Konan Bedie for the main opposition
party PDCI.
Two former ministers and Ouattara
allies, ex-foreign minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh and ex-education minister Albert
Toikeusse Mabri, are also running.
The outbreak of violence in the run-up to the vote has stirred memories of the political violence following 2010's election, in which around 3,000 people died. - AFP
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