Ministerial reshuffle amid political tensions in Côte d'Ivoire



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The ruling coalition, which includes the party of President Ouattara and that of his ally Henri Konan Bédié, has been in crisis for a few weeks.

 Ivorian President Albadane Ouattara, Abidjan, August 7, 2017.
Ivorian President Albadane Ouattara, in Abidjan on August 7, 2017.
Credits: Luc Gnago / REUTERS

The Ivorian presidency announced on Wednesday (July 4th) a reshuffle of the government, amid a political crisis in the ruling coalition , two years before the presidential election.

President Albadane Ouattara "put an end" to the functions of the government and reappointed the prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly to form a new team, according to the statement read in the Press by the Secretary General of the Presidency, Patrick Achi

#prec https://t.co/IC4cLNfowT

– Presidenceci (@Presidenceci)
   

The ruling coalition of President Ouattara's Rbademblement des Républicains (RDR) and former President Henri Konan Bédié's Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI) is in crisis, the PDCI having de facto refused to form a unified party with the RDR before the next presidential election.

See also:
        
    

                In Côte d'Ivoire, Albadane Ouattara no longer excludes a third term
    

The President instructed the Prime Minister "to propose a government team consisting of the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace [RHDP] and civil society" according to the communiqué.

The RHDP designates both the ruling RDR-PDCI electoral coalition and the future unified party wanted by President Ouattara. This unified party project creates divisions within its own camp and the PDCI.

Opening small parties

The party of Henri Konan Bédié, who twice supported the successful candidacy of Albadane Ouattara in 2010 and 2015, calls for reciprocity for 2020, a candidate from the PDCI supported by the RDR – which the presidential party does not seem to want to grant him.

The new government should see renewed PDCI ministers – they were twelve before the reshuffle – favorable to the unified party, and should open up to small parties that have decided to join him, commented a source close to the presidency.

See also:
        
    
                PDCI rejects single candidacy for Ivorian presidential election of 2020
    

On Tuesday, the Minister of Animal and Fishery Resources, Kobenan Koubadi Adjoumani, announced the launch of a dissident movement inside the PDCI, declaring himself in favor of the unified party. Half a dozen other ministers and a few PDCI deputies and senators were present at the public announcement.

Among the small parties, the UDPCI, headed by former Foreign Minister Toikeusse Mabri and which has six deputies in the Assembly, decided to join the RHDP. The Movement of Forces for the Future (MFA) and the Ivorian Workers Party (PIT) are divided on the issue. On the other hand, the Union for the Ivory Coast (PUIC, 3 deputies), refused to join the united party after a vote of its militants.

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