Côte d’Ivoire: RHDP Nominates 83-Year-Old Ouattara for Fourth Term Despite Opposition Claims of Electoral Exclusion

President Alassane Ouattara has been officially nominated as the candidate of the ruling Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) for Côte d’Ivoire’s upcoming presidential election on October 25, 2025.

This sets the stage for a potential fourth term in office, even as the opposition decries what they describe as a deliberate exclusion from the race.

The nomination was adopted by acclamation during the party’s national congress held on Saturday in Abidjan, presided over by former Prime Minister Patrick Achi. According to reports, thousands of party delegates erupted into chants of “ADO, ADO, ADO”, the popular nickname of Ouattara, as the announcement was made.

Although Ouattara was absent from the event, he is expected to speak publicly at a highly anticipated rally on Sunday at the Ebimpé stadium, the same venue where Côte d’Ivoire celebrated its 2024 Africa Cup of Nations victory. It is widely expected that he will use the occasion to clarify whether he will formally accept the nomination.

At 83, Ouattara has remained deliberately vague about his intentions, telling supporters in January only that he was still “eager to serve his country.” Still, signs point toward his eventual acceptance.

He was re-elected as party leader during the same congress and has been the focus of nationwide rallies by RHDP members urging him to run. Supporters within the party claim that Ouattara’s leadership has transformed Côte d’Ivoire into a model of economic resilience and stability in West Africa.

But the prospect of a fourth term has reignited concerns over constitutional term limits, an issue that was hotly debated during the 2020 election cycle after a controversial constitutional reform.

Adding to the tension is the disqualification of major opposition candidates. Former President Laurent Gbagbo, former youth leader Charles Blé Goudé, and exiled former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro have all been barred from running due to prior court convictions. Tidjane Thiam, head of the opposition PDCI party and widely considered a strong contender, was also disqualified over nationality issues. He has been out of the country since March.

These exclusions have sparked accusations of judicial manipulation. Gbagbo, in a recent address, condemned what he called “excesses”, threatening to return Côte d’Ivoire to a de facto one-party state.

“I will not abandon the fight against a fourth term,” he said. Government officials, however, deny any political interference, insisting that the decisions were made independently by the judiciary.

Meanwhile, in a joint declaration made in Abidjan on June 19, Gbagbo and Thiam announced a political alliance to challenge President Ouattara and the unfair and exclusionary electoral process. They said their coalition was formed to “resist government pressure” and push for reforms in the run-up to the polls.

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