launches

On Friday, October 16, Alassane Ouattara launched his campaign in Bouaké, the major city in central Côte d'Ivoire, for the October 31 presidential election. The president, who was running for a third term, met at length with the traditional leaders of the region to whom he exposed his program and defended his record, suggesting that a political dialogue could be held after the election. Then he held a…

Ivory Coast's head of state, Alassane Ouattara, has blown up two rivals' attempt to challenge next month's presidential election as "provocation", saying one of them is behind bars. In an interview published Thursday by the French magazine Paris Match, the 78-year-old sitting fired a verbal breadth against former President Laurent Gbagbo and former rebel leader Guillaume Soro. Both men live outside the country, but retain strong support at home, in a country still scarred by a post-election conflict that claimed more…