⁍ President Alassane Ouattara will face three challengers when he seeks re-election on Saturday after a decade in power.
⁍ His main rivals, former president Henri Konan Bedie and former prime minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan, have urged their supporters to boycott the poll.
⁍ The 78-year old former executive of the International Monetary Fund has said he is running against his will.
– Ivory Coast votes Saturday for a president, and incumbent Alassane Ouattara is the favorite. The 78-year-old former executive of the International Monetary Fund has been president for the past 10 years, but he announced in March he would not seek a third term, Reuters reports. He changed his mind five months later after the death of his successor. “I had planned my life after the presidency. This is a real sacrifice for me,” Ouattara said in August, adding that it was due to a “force majeure.” Ouattara’s main rivals, Henri Konan Bedie and former prime minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan, have urged their supporters to boycott the poll and prevent it from happening.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ivorycoast-election-candidates-factbo/factbox-who-are-the-candidates-vying-for-ivory-coasts-presidency-idUSKBN27D0RB