Ivory Coast Prime Minister dies

Ivory Coast’s Prime Minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly has died after falling ill at a ministerial meeting.

Mr Gon Coulibaly had only just returned from France where he had received two-months’ heart treatment.

President Alassane Ouattara says the country is mourning the deceased.

He said Mr Gon Coulibaly had become unwell during a weekly cabinet meeting and was taken to hospital where he later died.

“I pay tribute to my younger brother, my son, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who was for 30 years my closest partner,” the president said. “I salute the memory of a statesman of great loyalty, devotion and love for the homeland.”

Mr Gon Coulibaly’s death creates huge uncertainty over the election. The 61-year-old had been chosen as the ruling party’s candidate for October’s presidential election, after President Ouattara said he would not seek a third term in office.

He had received a heart transplant in 2012 and had travelled to Paris on 2 May for the insertion of a stent.

He returned last Thursday saying: “I am back to take my place by the side of the president, to continue the task of developing and building our country.”

Mr Gon Coulibaly was among the favourites to win the presidential election.

Mr Ouattara’s decision in March not to run stunned the country. His supporters say he has brought economic growth, stability and a renewed standing for Ivory Coast on the international stage.

But opposition politicians – and many Ivorians – say that the president has not done enough to bring the nation together, and heal the wounds of the bitter conflict that divided Ivory Coast and then brought him to power.

Around 3,000 people are thought to have died in the war sparked by candidate Laurent Gbagbo’s refusal to accept he had lost the 2010 elections to Mr Ouattara, before troops loyal to the current president arrested Mr Gbagbo in April 2011.

The long-running political disputes between Gbagbo, Mr Ouattara and another former president, Henri Konan Bédié, have been disastrous for Ivory Coast.

Why did Mr Ouattara quit the October poll?

Ouattara had previously said he would run if two of his longtime political rivals were candidates, but he in May this year declared in a speech before lawmakers that he would step down after 10 years in office.

“I have decided not to be candidate in the Oct. 31 presidential election and to transfer power to a new generation,” Ouattara said, prompting applause, cheers and gasps from audience members in the capital Yamoussoukro.

Ouattara’s two main rivals, Gbagbo and another former president, Henri Konan Bedie, have not yet said whether they will be candidates in October.

The move left the presidential race wide open and could set off a succession battle within Ouattara’s own coalition. In his speech, Ouattara also announced several proposed revisions to the constitution but insisted none of them would be used to exclude rivals from the presidential election, as some in the opposition fear.

Political tensions have been on the rise again in recent months after the government issued an arrest warrant for Guillaume Soro, a presidential candidate and former rebel leader. His forces swept Ouattara to power in 2011 but he has since fallen out with the president.

Leaders from across the political spectrum welcomed Ouattara’s announcement, which bucks a trend in which several African leaders have sought to circumvent constitutional term limits to stay in power.

It is not clear if Gbgabo will be able to run. He was acquitted last year by the International Criminal Court in The Hague of crimes against humanity for his role in the civil war but remains in Europe pending an appeal by the prosecution.