IPNews-Monrovia: Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara today Thrusday declared he would seek re-election in October, formally accepting the ruling party’s nomination to be its candidate and defying opponents who say the constitution forbids a third term.

Alassane Ouattara, wjo had been President of Ivory Coast since 2011, had previously said he would not seek a third term.

Ouattara, had won plaudits in March after announcing that he would not seek another term in power.

But his preferred successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died in July, leading the party to ask Ouattara to reconsider that decision.

“I have decided to respond favourably to the call of my fellow citizens,”

“Given my previous promise, this decision represents a real sacrifice for me.”Ouattara said in televized speech.

The election is seen as the greatest test yet of the tenuous stability achieved since a brief civil war in 2010 and 2011 killed about 3,000 people following Ouattara’s first election win.

Ouattara’s opponents say the two-term limit in the constitution bars him from running again, but the president has said his first two mandates do not count under the new constitution adopted in 2016.

Next door in the Republic of Guinea, speculation remain high that Guinean President Alpha Conde will bid for a third term gained ground on Thursday after his party urged him to run and he acknowledged their appeal.

The ruling RPG party called on the 82-year-old president to run for re-election this year, despite deadly clashes that have erupted in the West African state over this scenario.

Under Guinea’s constitution, presidents may only serve two terms.

Conde was elected president in 2010 and again in 2015. But this year he pushed through a revamped constitution that opponents say was crafted to reset the term counter, enabling him to run again.

His Rally of the Guinean People (RPG) pushed for Conde as its presidential candidate at a convention in the capital Conakry.

Party members are issuing a “plea to President Alpha Conde to accept the will of the people to be the RPG’s sole candidate,” MP Diakagbe Kaba told around 350 delegates.

The RPG wants “a national and total mobilisation, including all the structures of the party, for a victory in the first round of the presidential election,” said Zeinab Camara, rapporteur of the committee in charge of electoral strategy.

Conde acknowledged the request before the delegates, although he did not explicitly commit to running again. “I take note, you heard me, I take note,” he said.

“If you want me to accept your proposal, you have to commit yourself to making the RPG what it used to be, a party that forgets no one,” he added, referring to women, youngsters and the poor.

“The main battle will be to fight corruption”.

For months, Conde has been carefully non-committal about whether he intends to run again, saying only that it is “the party which will decide.”

Guinea’s electoral commission has proposed the presidential election be held on October 18, but Conde has yet to sign off on a date.

Thursday’s developments are likely to incense Guinea’s embattled opposition, which has staged mass rallies since October against the possibility of Conde bidding for a third term.

Security forces in the former French colony repeatedly cracked down on the protests, in which several dozen civilians were killed.

Opposition figures also attempted to organise a boycott of the referendum in March, but the vote went ahead despite protests.

According to the official results, the constitution was approved by 91.59 percent of those voting, with a turnout of 61 percent.

– ‘No alternative’ –

Conde is a former opposition figure himself who was jailed under Guinea’s previous iron-fisted regimes.

Hopes of a new political dawn flowered when Conde became Guinea’s first democratically elected president in 2010, but critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian.

The country, which is rich in minerals, suffers from entrenched poverty and a history of instability.

But Prime Minister Kassory Fofana opened the convention on Wednesday declaring that Conde was the right choice as “the world faces the COVID-19 pandemic and where violence is widespread”.

“The difficult times are menacing, but I am sure we will

emerge victorious under the leadership of President Alpha Conde,” he said.

Malick Sankon, a member of the RPG’s national political bureau, said Wednesday that he expected Conde to accept the party’s request.

“We have no alternative, nobody has emerged, so we are continuing to tell him to do the work and we will see later,” Sankon told AFP.

Eric Humphery-Smith, an analyst at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said that he expected Conde to “stall before accepting his party’s nomination”.

He suggested that the octogenarian leader would likely seek to gauge the international response to Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara, who may also seek a third presidential term.

Conde had already received support earlier this week from a coalition of parties allied to the RPG, the Democratic Convention for Change in Continuity (CODECC).

Its spokesman, Hydraulics Minister Papa Koly Kourouma, had praised his achievements, especially in terms of “economic take-off”.

It many be recalled, the Ivory Coast among 21 Countries on the African continents  at the  Niamey, conference held in Niger, in October 4, 2019, on ‘Constitutionalism and Term Limits’, signed to uphold term  limits of their countries as enshrined by  their respective Constitutions.

The conference was attended by former African heads of state, civil society leaders and media professionals in Niamey, Niger, from October 2 to 4, 2019, at the invitation of NDI and its partners, the Kofi Annan Foundation, OSIWA and the Africa Forum, to discuss constitutionalism, democratic consolidation and the peaceful transfer of executive power across the continent. The participants extend their sincere thanks to the Government of Niger for hosting the conference.

The parties agreed that : “We, the participants, acknowledge the progress made in constitutional frameworks across the continent over the past three decades that have enshrined presidential term limits to facilitate renewal of political leadership in a continent undergoing vast demographic, economic and political changes. This is in addition to efforts at strengthening the rule of law, justice, reconciliation and national reconciliation.”

“We note, however, that a number of African countries are experiencing democratic backsliding following constitutional changes to remove the presidential term limits introduced in most countries on the continent during their democratic transitions in the 1990s at the end of the Cold War, following the fall of the Berlin Wall.”

According to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, of the 21 African countries that have upheld term limits, the executive officeholders have been in power for 4 years, on average. The average time in power for the 10 African leaders who have evaded term limits, in contrast, is 22 years. The abrogation of term limits undermines accountability, increases concentration of power in the hands of one or a few individuals and shrinks political space, ultimately leading to rising risks of political tensions, violence and civil strife. We celebrate Africa’s youthful population which constitutes a significant demographic that is eager to participate and contribute to democratic governance and the development of their respective countries.

“However, we observe that the obvious reluctance of some leaders to adhere to constitutional terms, limits opportunities for this participation and for the renewal of political leadership and democratic turnover. We affirm and commit ourselves to the following: Promoting and defending principles of constitutionalism, rule of law and respect of term limits Combined actions by Africans at both the grassroots and leadership levels serve to promote constitutionalism and the application of term limits.”

“We therefore commit to join our voices to call 1 for the respect of term limits, constitutional rule and the rule of law more broadly which contribute to peace, stability and development across the continent. Individually and collectively, we pledge to promote the principles of constitutionalism and rule of law set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance (the “Charter”), and the constitutions of various African countries, specifically as relates to presidential term limits and renewal of political leadership.”

“We support the aspirations of consolidating constitutional rule and entrenching a culture of democracy and peace embodied in the Charter, which seeks to establish continent-wide norms of peaceful political change. The Charter also promotes the holding of regular, credible and inclusive elections and the strengthening of political institutions. Constitutional revisions or amendments perceived to benefit a single or a few individuals by removing or amending term limits, are counter to these aspirations. Though such changes may respect the letter of the law, they undermine trust and counter the spirit of the original constitution. Beyond a legal instrument, constitutions should be seen as a covenant among citizens. Significant constitutional changes should be adopted by referendum and not by legislative action alone. Facilitating peaceful transfers of power We recognize that African heads of state, political parties, civil society, media and citizens at large have a responsibility to facilitate peaceful transfers of executive power and should create environments that promote smooth transitions from one leader and administration to the next.” The resolution read.

Delegates at the conference pointed out mechanisms for the effective transfer of power to another.

“We believe that effective legal frameworks that provide mechanisms for holding transparent and credible elections and the peaceful resolution of election-related dispute, prevent political disagreements degenerating into violence. At the same time, we commend legislation in several African countries that facilitates orderly transfers of executive power and enables constructive collaboration between outgoing and incoming governments.”

“We encourage countries to adopt proper procedures for incumbent presidents to carry out an orderly handover to the next government, with effective accountability for the transfer of assets and authority. We urge incumbent presidents to establish early timelines to facilitate adherence to these procedures.”

“We call on organizations, notably the African Union and the regional economic communities, to intensify efforts at strengthening norms and principles of constitutionalism, rule of law and respect for term limits to avoid the break-down of institutions, national crises and conflict.”

“We also strongly recommend early, preventive diplomacy by former heads of state, civil society, 2 religious and traditional leaders, labor unions, and especially the media, when sitting presidents initiate procedures to remove term limits.” The parties committed themselves.

They further agreed to fostering national and continent wide consensus around respect for term limits by urging all Africans to recommit to consolidating democratic progress achieved across the continent by signing on to this Declaration of Principles in support of constitutionalism, the rule of law and the respect of term limits.

“We support the ratification and implementation of the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance and of all other relevant legal instruments aimed at strengthening constitutional rule on the continent.”

“We urge former heads of state, through their good offices and in collaboration with civil society and the media, to continue contributing to strengthening democracy on the continent, and where needed serving as mediators and peace-makers. These actions demonstrate to sitting presidents and the world at large that there is a rich life after State House. We encourage the use of this Declaration as an advocacy tool to empower Africans to hold their leaders accountable and have them fully embrace constitutional term limits.”Niamey, Declaration signed on  October 4, 2019, read.