ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast
Thousands of people in Ivory Coast continued to stage demonstrations on Friday against plans by incumbent President Alassane Ouattara to run for reelection in Oct. 25 polls.
The opposition, citing the country’s constitution, says Ouattara lacks the right to seek a second term in office.
The protests, which began on Thursday, spread across the country on Friday after a civilian was killed and several others injured.
Separately, a group of demonstrators torched a public bus in Abidjan’s Port-Bouet Vridi municipality, while others barricaded the city’s Garahio Road, bringing traffic to a standstill.
In a statement, opposition leader Laurent Gbagbo’s Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party blasted Ouattara’s reelection bid, saying the incumbent president was “ineligible” to vie for another term in office according to the terms of the national charter.
A total of ten people, including Ouattara and FPI candidate Pascal Affi N'Guessan, were officially declared as candidates on Wednesday by Ivory Coast’s Constitutional Council.
