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Kuwait Times
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Somalia donors losing faith as Al-Shabaab insurgency surges
Govt faces a perfect storm of declining global support and demoralized army NAIROBI: Despite billions of dollars in international support, Somalia's army has melted in the face of a months-long offensive by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabaab insurgency, and donors are running out of patience. Using hundreds of fighters and a vehicle packed with explosives for a suicide attack, Al-Shabaab retook the town of Moqokori on July 7, the latest in a wave of defeats this year for the government. It has given them a strategic geographical position to launch attacks into the Hiiraan region, but it was also a powerful symbolic victory over a local clan militia that had been the government's 'best fighting force' against Al-Shabaab, according to Omar Mahmood of the International Crisis Group. Somalia's government has been battling the Islamist militant group since the mid-2000s and its fortunes have waxed and waned, but now faces a perfect storm of declining international support, a demoralized army and political infighting. The government relied on local militias, known as 'Macwiisley', for a successful campaign in 2022-23, taking some 200 towns and villages from Al-Shabaab. But the insurgents' counter-offensive this year has seen them regain some 90 percent of their lost territory, estimates Rashid Abdi of Sahan Research, a think tank. Towns that were supposed models of stabilization, like Masaajid Cali Gaduud and Adan Yabal, have fallen. Three bridges along the Shebelle River, crucial to military supply lines, have been destroyed. 'The whole stretch from the north-west to the south-west of Mogadishu is now controlled largely by Al-Shabaab,' Abdi told AFP. The Macwiisley campaign collapsed, he said, because the government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, known as HSM, 'was extremely inept at working with the clans', empowering some and not others based on political favoritism rather than military needs. 'The mobilization went well when the president came from Mogadishu to start the first phase of the offensive (in 2022). Everybody was heavily involved in the fighting... assisting the national army,' Mohamed Hassan, a local militia member in Hiiraan, told AFP. 'It's no longer the same because the leadership are no longer involved and there seems to be disorganization in how the community militias are mobilized,' he added. The Somali National Army has done little to stem the insurgents, unsurprising for a force 'still in development mode while trying to fight a war at the same time,' said Mahmood, the analyst. Its most effective arm, the US-trained 'Danab' commando unit, is better at killing militants than holding territory, and has suffered demoralizing losses to its officer corps, added Abdi. 'We are beginning to see an army that is not just dysfunctional, but losing the will to actually fight,' he said. The problems stem from the wider chaos of Somali politics, in which a kaleidoscope of clan demands have never resolved into anything like a national consensus. The government has vowed a renewed military push, but President Mohamud's focus has been on holding the country's first-ever one-man, one-vote election next year. That 'will not happen', said a Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. Even in Mogadishu, where security is strongest, 'any polling station would get bombed,' he said. 'It's unfortunate that attention was shifted towards insignificant political-related matters which do not help security instead of focusing on strengthening the armed forces,' ex-president Sharif Sheikh Ahmed recently told reporters. Al-Shabaab has not launched a full assault on the capital, but has repeatedly demonstrated its presence. Pot-shots targeting the airport are at an all-time high, said the diplomat, and Mohamud narrowly survived an attack on his convoy outside the presidential palace in March. The group also controls much of the economy. 'It out-taxes the state. Its business tentacles spread everywhere,' said Abdi. 'It is one of the wealthiest insurgencies in Africa.' Meanwhile, the government's foreign backers are losing patience. The European Union and United States have poured well over $7 billion into Somali security — primarily various African Union-led missions — since 2007, according to the EU Institute for Security Studies. The previous AU mission ended in December, but had to be immediately replaced with a new one — with the quip-generating acronym AUSSOM — because Somali forces were still not ready to take over. — AFP
AllAfrica
12-07-2025
- Politics
- AllAfrica
Thai government headed, for the moment, by former student leftist
BANGKOK – Thailand's struggle with democracy has resulted in three very different prime ministers in three days with Phumtham Wechayachai becoming the newest caretaker leader, after a court suspended former Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for alleged 'ethical misconduct.' So, who is Acting Prime Minister Phumtham ('POOM-tom')? Phumtham, 72, is a veteran politician who was commerce minister and caretaker prime minister in 2024 and Paetongtarn's defense minister during 2025. Some generals in the US-trained military were wary of Phumtham when Paetongtarn appointed the civilian as defense minister, because in 1976 he had joined an anti-military leftist student movement and acquired the nickname 'Big Comrade' for voicing speeches against the return of military dictator Thanom Kittikachorn. When the military violently crushed the university students' protests – by official count killing 46 students although there were estimates of more than 100 dead – Phumtham fled into the countryside with hundreds of others who were welcomed by Thailand's hardened China-backed communist guerrillas. Students who survived those battles eventually surrendered and received amnesty. Some joined mainstream politics after changing their political views. 'I went to escape the violence,' Mr. Phumtham said last year, denying the military's suspicions that he believed in communism. 'It was not only me. There were other students, too.' The dizzying changes at the top of this Southeast Asian, Buddhist-majority US ally are an attempt by Paetongtarn to keep herself and her Shinawatra family's dynastic Pheu Thai (For Thais) Party in her fragile ruling coalition, after the powerful Constitutional Court suspended her from the prime ministership on July 1. In a cabinet shuffle hours before her suspension, Paetongtarn appointed herself as culture minister to remain in the government while the court deliberates her fate, which could come quickly or take weeks. Paetongtarn, 38, faces a possible ban from politics for 10 years, or worse punishment, for criticizing a Royal Thai Army commander during her leaked phone call to Cambodia's de facto leader, Senate President Hun Sen, on June 15. As a result of Paetongtarn's cabinet shakeup, the military was given only a new acting defense minister, General Nattphon Narkphanit, after Phumtham resigned as defense minister to become acting prime minister. 'Leaving such an important position vacant is unprecedented in Thai politics,' a July 3 editorial by the conservative Bangkok Post editorial said, adding that the move was especially worrying because Thailand and Cambodia are involved in a deadly border dispute. Thai troops shot dead a Cambodian soldier during a brief clash on May 28 in the jungle and scrubland of the Emerald Triangle where eastern Thailand, northern Cambodia, and southern Laos meet. During June, the feud morphed into current economic boycotts of some imports and exports by both sides and border closures. 'Why, in a situation where we are still entangled with Cambodia, do we not have a defense minister?' said popular opposition People's Party member of parliament Rangsiman Rome. 'I think this kind of signal is not good for the Thai people, and we all know that the defense minister is important, not just for signing arms procurement deals, but also for strategy and working with the National Security Council, which today plays an important role in resolving various problems that arise, including the Cambodia [border] issue,' Mr. Rangsiman told Khaosod English news. 'Evidently, the new cabinet is not based on meritocracy,' the Bangkok Post said in its July 3 editorial, describing it as 'a lame-duck government.' 'The change is to ensure the [Pheu Thai] party's short-term, if not immediate, survival by sharing the political cake among those in its circle – giving or returning favors so they do not jump ship and will still be around at the next election,' the editorial said. Acting Prime Minister Phumtham is a trusted aide of Paetongtarn's politically powerful father, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire perceived as the de facto leader of Thailand who influences his politically naive daughter's decisions and policies. When a military coup toppled twice-elected Thaksin's 2001-2006 government, Phumtham and many of Thaksin's other party members were banned from politics for five years. Phumtham's rise to become acting prime minister involved a dazzling political zig-zag. On July 3, Phumtham replaced a previous caretaker prime minister, Suriya Juangroongruangkit, whom Paetongtarn had suddenly appointed on July two hours before the Constitutional Court suspended her. As a result, former Transport Minister Suriya became acting prime minister for only one day, July 2, before Phumtham took over that caretaker role on July 3. Paetongtarn in her role as the new culture minister went on July 3 with her multi-party cabinet to Dusit Palace, where they swore an oath of allegiance to King Vajiralongkorn as required when an administration shuffles its cabinet. Outgoing Acting Prime Minister Suriya that day also took the oath as acting prime minister, alongside Phumtham who was sworn in as Thailand's new interior minister and reconfirmed as a deputy prime minister. Hours later on July 3 Suriya resigned, as planned, to allow Phumtham to be appointed as the new caretaker prime minister. Phumtham had previously been lower in the order of succession than Suriya, so Mr. Phumtham was unable to become acting prime minister until the cabinet reshuffle and allegiance oath on July 3. As a newly sworn-in interior minister and deputy prime minister, Phumtham was then qualified to be promoted to acting prime minister. The confusing, hurried changes reflect Paetongtarn's rapidly weakening position and her seemingly desperate attempts to exploit legal loopholes in parliament, where her party has a razor-thin majority. The National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Election Commission and the Central Investigation Bureau are all due, separately, to hear allegations that her conversation with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen may have violated the constitution or threatened Thailand's security. Lawmakers were scheduled for a no-confidence vote against Paetongtarn's coalition on July 3 but the five opposition parties agreed to postpone it until the Constitutional Court reviews her case. Paetongtarn said, 'I insist I had no ill intentions' in criticizing the high-ranking general. The prime minister was given 15 days to defend herself in court. The Constitution Court's nine judges voted unanimously to consider a petition by 36 appointed, pro-military senators accusing Paetongtarn of 'lacking integrity' as well as committing 'ethical misconduct' while speaking to Hun Sen during their ongoing border feud, and voted 7-2 to suspend her immediately from the prime minister's post. Audio from her phone call on June 15 to Hun Sen was leaked, exposing her criticism of Thailand's Second Army Region Commander Lt. Gen. Boonsin Padklang. General Boonsin's troops guard northeastern Thailand's border with Cambodia, including the disputed Emerald Triangle zone where the shooting occurred. In an audio clip of her leaked call – which she later confirmed – Paetongtarn told Hun Sen that she did not want him 'to listen to the opposing side, especially since the [Thai] Second Army Region commander is entirely from the opposition.' The Thai commander 'just wants to appear cool or impressive. He may say [hawkish] things that are not beneficial to the country,' Paetongtarn said to Hun Sen during her call. The Bangkok Post described her comments about the commander as 'derogatory remarks' and criticized her 'submissive tone towards Hun Sen, with her signaling a readiness to comply with the Cambodian strongman's demands.' Richard S. Ehrlich is a Bangkok-based American foreign correspondent reporting from Asia since 1978, and winner of Columbia University's Foreign Correspondents' Award. Excerpts from his two new nonfiction books, Rituals. Killers. Wars. & Sex. – Tibet, India, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka & New York and Apocalyptic Tribes, Smugglers & Freaks are available here.
Straits Times
06-07-2025
- Science
- Straits Times
Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox So much of the news is about what's happening in the moment. But after a major event, people pick up the pieces, and life goes on. In this new series, The Straits Times talks to the everyday heroes who have reinvented themselves, turned their lives around, and serve as an inspiration to us all. World-renowned nanotech scientist Jackie Ying moved to Saudi Arabia in 2023 to help further the country's biomedical research potential. SINGAPORE - Professor Jackie Ying, a pint-sized dynamo never seen without her signature headscarf, dark suit and track shoes, has always lived life on her terms. As she approaches 60, she has again met change head-on. The world-renowned nanotech scientist has relocated from Singapore – where she spent two decades as one of the pioneers transforming the nation into a research powerhouse – to Saudi Arabia. Prof Ying has given up all she has accomplished here to move to the Middle East, where she is building a laboratory in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh to advance novel diagnostics and treatments in genetic diseases, which are particularly prevalent there. It is yet another milestone in a career of many firsts for the Taiwan-born, US-trained scientist. 'I'm really excited. I feel 20 years younger because of all these new things I want to do,' she told The Straits Times. 'Physically, I think I'm running after myself because of the excitement of my lab and the collaborators.' Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore First BTO project in Sembawang North to be offered in July HDB launch World Tariffs will kick in on Aug 1 barring trade deals: US Treasury Secretary Singapore Woman on SMRT's 190 bus injured after bottle thrown at vehicle leaves hole in window Business Great Eastern says Takeover Code not breached when it shared IFA valuation with OCBC Asia 'Don't be seen in India again': Indian nationals pushed into Bangladesh at gunpoint Asia Thousands evacuated as Typhoon Danas lashes Taiwan Asia Two women fatally stabbed at bar in Japan by man Life Star Awards 2025: Christopher Lee wins big, including Special Achievement Award and Best Actor The plan is to help advance Saudi Arabia's budding biomedical scene, as Prof Ying did for Singapore many years ago. Blazing a trail in Singapore Prof Ying, 59, is among a pool of top researchers, coined 'whales', who were wooed here from all over the world more than two decades ago by then A*Star chairman Philip Yeo to turn Singapore into a biomedical hub. Among other achievements, she helped to establish Biopolis. One of the youngest people to make full professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the age of 35, she moved to Singapore in 2003 to become the founding director of A*Star's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN), which has since been merged with a consortium to form the A*Star Institute of Bioengineering and Bioimaging. In 2018, Prof Ying and her team built A*Star's NanoBio Lab, a research incubator, from scratch. Prof Ying is a master of building materials thinner than a strand of hair which can be harnessed in areas as varied as medicine, chemistry and energy. She has helped to build more than 13 start-ups, invented and patented hundreds of technologies, and won numerous awards. Among her inventions are a device that can test for dengue within 20 minutes with just saliva, and tiny particles that automatically deliver insulin to diabetic patients when their blood glucose levels are high. One of her start-ups, Cellbae, developed the first made-in-Singapore antigen rapid test kits for Covid-19, which were subsequently exported to Europe. With her many awards and accolades, Prof Ying is a well-known figure in Singapore, and is often approached by strangers for photographs when she is in the country. But her last few years working in Singapore were not easy, she said, as leadership changes led to major changes that impacted various institutes under A*Star. Without divulging details, she said: 'We didn't have the same level of independence as what we used to have, and that really affected our smooth operations.' In mid-2023, Prof Ying was invited to become a visiting distinguished professor and senior adviser to the president of the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia, which had just formed a bioengineering department. The move took substantial courage Moving to a new environment was not an easy decision because of her strong ties with Singapore, admitted Prof Ying. She lived in Singapore as a child and studied at primary and secondary schools here when her father, who taught Chinese literature, was a faculty member at the former Nanyang University. But she took the leap, and moved to Saudi Arabia in 2023. 'I also looked at potentially returning to the US, but this possibility opened up in Saudi Arabia, and I think that was far more exciting... something different in another continent,' said Prof Ying. 'It was a very difficult decision to leave Singapore. Our lab was very nicely established, and blessed with excellent staff who have worked with me for many years. It was very painful to leave them; they are like family members,' she added. Now, while she is with King Fahd University, her main appointment is head of the bioengineering and nanomedicine department of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC) in Riyadh. In less than two years , she has set up the foundations of her new office: a 1,500 sq m lab – the size of more than 10 four-room Housing Board flats. 'We have received major funding internally from KFSHRC to build a large, new lab with lots of state-of-the-art equipment. We have successfully recruited over a dozen research staff and students in a year, and will continue to grow in the coming years,' said Prof Ying. Professor Jackie Ying treats her researchers in Singapore like family, and in Saudi Arabia, she does the same. PHOTO: KING FAISAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTRE 'I find I'm just racing (against) time to get as much done as possible. In your 50s, to make a major change in your working environment, especially in one that has been so productive, took substantial courage,' she said. On a mission to tackle Arab world's genetic diseases The doors to Saudi Arabia opened wide for Prof Ying in 2023 when she became the first woman to receive what is known as the 'Arab Nobel prize' – the King Faisal Prize in Science for her work in nanomedicine. Some past laureates have gone on to win a Nobel Prize. At the same time, research received a boost as pursuing biotechnology and improving public health became a focus area under the Saudi Vision 2030 – a government push to diversify the Saudi Arabian economy beyond oil and gas. The kingdom had recently set out a strategy to advance its self-sufficiency in vaccines, biomanufacturing and genomics. Prof Ying is particularly interested in tackling genetic diseases. People in the Middle East and North Africa region have a malaise of inherited disorders – higher than the global average – a result of the cultural practice of marrying within tribes. Walking up to her lab in the hospital, she sees children in wheelchairs – afflicted with cancers such as leukaemia and neurological diseases such as spinal muscular atrophy, a rare disorder that causes muscle weakness and breathing problems. 'The doctors will be knocking on your door; they are anxious to do research. We see the frustrations some clinicians have when it comes to genetic diseases. They know what their patients are suffering, but there's a lack of therapies that are effective and affordable,' said Prof Ying. Her team is working on identifying genetic clues called biomarkers that indicate the presence of a disease. New gene therapies can then be developed to attack the disease-causing biomarkers. For example, her team is developing man-made patches of DNA that attach to molecules that produce disease-causing proteins and block their production. This is a form of RNA (ribonucleic acid) therapy. 'Using machine learning and artificial intelligence, we hope to accelerate the creation of effective RNA therapies that could be much less expensive than the available DNA therapies, which can cost over $2 million for a patient with spinal muscular atrophy,' said Prof Ying. She added: 'KFSHRC specialises in the most challenging diseases. In the region, patients with complicated diseases will flock to the hospital. Access to the patients really helps with biomarker discovery and clinical trials.' She is also keen on tracking emerging infectious diseases, and her lab is collaborating with Cellbae to monitor wastewater for traces of viruses at hospitals, farms and religious sites. 'A citizen of the world' In early 2025, Prof Ying was appointed to lead research and innovation at KFSHRC, which has three main hospitals in the kingdom. 'I'm really trying my best because I'm at a certain age. I really want to see this happen. But more importantly, I want to train the students, those doing their PhD, and the more senior people, so that they can front a lot of things.' Prof Ying, who has a 23-year-old daughter pursuing a dual doctorate in medicine and scientific research at Texas A&M University, said she takes pride in nurturing many young researchers who pass through the doors of her labs. Several of her former A*Star colleagues from IBN and her NanoBio Lab have followed her to Saudi Arabia. The move was not easy for some, who have young families in tow, added Prof Ying. One of them is Dr Muhammad Nadjad Abdul Rahim, who was Prof Ying's PhD student back in the NanoBio Lab, which has since closed down. Prof Jackie Ying and her Cellbae colleagues Muhammad Nadjad Abdul Rahim (looking through microscope) and Kian Ping Chan, both of whom recently moved to Riyadh. PHOTO: KING FAISAL SPECIALIST HOSPITAL AND RESEARCH CENTRE Dr Nadjad, 37, is now operations and product development director of Cellbae, which expanded to Saudi Arabia in 2024. It was founded in Singapore with another branch in the US. In addition to producing Covid-19 test kits, Cellbae creates test kits for various pathogens, and for food and environmental monitoring, and other medical devices. The company is looking at improving diagnostics for genetic diseases and cancers that are more pronounced in the kingdom, like Hodgkin's lymphoma – an aggressive form of blood cancer that is increasingly afflicting young people there. It is also developing a method to amplify signatures of virus families so that scientists can keep an eye on circulating diseases in wastewater. Said Dr Nadjad: 'Prof Ying doesn't sleep enough. Our team has no idea how she finds that energy. But I think this is encapsulated in her belief of how hard we must work to solve problems in the world.' Commenting on Prof Ying's move to Saudi Arabia, he added: 'A scientist is a citizen of the world. She is always rolling up her sleeves to solve difficult problems and not one who would be comfortable sitting down collecting salary.' Prof Ying, a devout Muslim who has been to Mecca in Saudi Arabia more than 15 times to perform the haj and umrah pilgrimages, said she has fit in well in her new home. Born into a Christian family, she converted to Islam in her 30s. 'There is this notion that Saudi Arabia has issues with human rights. I have told others: 'Please come and see for yourself.' Over the last few years, I would say people are very well treated – women or men, it doesn't matter. It's a very safe, very secure, very peaceful place,' she said. 'I love living here. Riyadh is a dynamic and rapidly growing city, with lots of great restaurants.' Working harder as a minority In the light of her many achievements, it can be hard to remember that the odds were stacked against Prof Ying, who has been known to call herself a 'minority of minorities', as a Chinese Muslim female in the male-centric world of science. In the early 1990s, she was the first female Asian American professor at the MIT School of Engineering, and the lecture hall blackboards were not built for those with a smaller stature. 'I could only reach the bottom half of the lowest blackboard. After writing just a few equations, I had to erase them because I couldn't reach the higher blackboards,' she said with a laugh. In the locker room of her New York high school – famous for being where folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel first started performing together as students – a couple of taller teenage girls would stare her down to intimidate her. 'I wouldn't say it was bullying, but there are people who are not particularly friendly. You go to high school through metal detectors. I wouldn't say students were carrying guns, but some of them certainly had knives,' she said. Those moments helped her build grit. 'As a minority, I told myself I've got to work twice as hard.' And she did. In 2017, she received the highest accolade for academic inventors as a fellow of the US National Academy of Inventors. And each year since 2012, she has been listed among the world's 500 most influential Muslims. 'It's important to speak up despite being a minority. I am not a yes-man and don't expect my staff to be yes-men,' she said. Looking ahead towards the next phase of her career in the kingdom, Prof Ying said: 'It's a lifetime of work ahead. We always pray hard and wish for good health and abundant resources.'
Kuwait Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Ivory Coast leader Ouattara tapped to run for fourth term
ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast leader Alassane Ouattara's party on Saturday tapped him to run for president again, two days after the country's two main opposition parties joined forces to fight his possible candidacy. Ouattara himself has not yet confirmed whether or not he will run for a fourth term as president of the west African country. But delegates accepted his candidacy after Patrick Achi, head of the congress of the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), proposed him in the president's absence. His nomination comes after weeks of rising political tensions triggered by the courts' barring of several opposition politicians from the October 25 election. Ouattara's critics, who accuse the US-trained economist of creeping authoritarianism, fiercely oppose his possible candidacy. Ivory Coast's two main opposition parties on Thursday announced a 'common front' to demand that their leaders, banned from October presidential polls, be allowed to stand. It brings together the African People's Party - Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) of former president Laurent Gbagbo and former international banker Tidjane Thiam's Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), the country's largest opposition force. Gbagbo, whose contesting of the 2010 vote which saw Ouattara elected triggered violence which killed 3,000 people, is among the politicians the courts have struck off the list of candidates for president. 'Continue the adventure' Whether Ouattara will run again is the question on everyone's lips in the west African nation. Ouattara, who will turn 84 in January, has maintained the suspense for months. A comment made in January that he was 'eager to continue serving' the country has so far been the only clue he is considering a fourth term. Ouattara is on Sunday due to address a major meeting at the Ebimpe stadium, where Ivory Coast's footballers won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024. His supporters see the head of state, who made a career as an economist for the International Monetary Fund before turning to politics, as a beacon of stability. They loudly cheered his nomination on Saturday, chanting his nickname 'Ado' after his initials. 'He has to accept and listen to the cries of his children who are calling on him to continue the adventure,' said Honore Adom, who came to the congress from the eastern Indenie-Djuablin region. 'He has so pleased us that he must finish the works that he has begun,' Lassana Kone, who travelled from Gbeke in central Ivory Coast, told AFP. Before the thousands gathered at the congress in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's economic capital, the RHDP's leadership hailed Ouattara's stewardship of the country. On his watch Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, has seen seven-percent economic growth nearly every year. 'Ivory Coast has made major advances on the economic, social and cultural fronts, with sustained growth that has made us the envy of many,' said Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Kone. Equipment minister Amedee Koffi Kouakou said Ouattara had made the country 'a haven of peace' in an often restive region. Yet the president's critics have pointed to the striking-off of his potential opponents from running in the upcoming vote as evidence of Ouattara's increasing abuses of power. — AFP Besides ex-president Gbagbo, the courts have also prevented his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and ex-prime minister Guillaume Soro from taking part in the race on legal grounds. The PDCI's Thiam, who has been outside Ivory Coast since the middle of March, is barred for issues of nationality. The authorities have insisted that the decisions were taken by the independent courts, denying any political intervention in the electoral processes. — AFP
France 24
21-06-2025
- Politics
- France 24
I. Coast president Ouattara tapped to run for fourth term
Ouattara himself has not yet confirmed whether or not he will run for a fourth term as president of the west African country. But delegates accepted his candidacy after Patrick Achi, head of the congress of the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), proposed him in the president's absence. His nomination comes after weeks of rising political tensions triggered by the courts' barring of several opposition politicians from the October 25 election. Ouattara's critics, who accuse the US-trained economist of creeping authoritarianism, fiercely oppose his possible candidacy. Ivory Coast's two main opposition parties on Thursday announced a "common front" to demand that their leaders, banned from October presidential polls, be allowed to stand. It brings together the African People's Party -- Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) of former president Laurent Gbagbo and former international banker Tidjane Thiam's Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), the country's largest opposition force. Gbagbo, whose contesting of the 2010 vote which saw Ouattara elected triggered violence which killed 3,000 people, is among the politicians the courts have struck off the list of candidates for president. 'Continue the adventure' Whether Ouattara will run again is the question on everyone's lips in the west African nation. Ouattara, who will turn 84 in January, has maintained the suspense for months. A comment made in January that he was "eager to continue serving" the country has so far been the only clue he is considering a fourth term. Ouattara is on Sunday due to address a major meeting at the Ebimpe stadium, where Ivory Coast's footballers won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024. His supporters see the head of state, who made a career as an economist for the International Monetary Fund before turning to politics, as a beacon of stability. They loudly cheered his nomination on Saturday, chanting his nickname "Ado" after his initials. "He has to accept and listen to the cries of his children who are calling on him to continue the adventure," said Honore Adom, who came to the congress from the eastern Indenie-Djuablin region. "He has so pleased us that he must finish the works that he has begun," Lassana Kone, who travelled from Gbeke in central Ivory Coast, told AFP. 'Envy of many' Before the thousands gathered at the congress in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's economic capital, the RHDP's leadership hailed Ouattara's stewardship of the country. On his watch Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, has seen seven-percent economic growth nearly every year. "Ivory Coast has made major advances on the economic, social and cultural fronts, with sustained growth that has made us the envy of many," said Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Kone. Equipment minister Amedee Koffi Kouakou said Ouattara had made the country "a haven of peace" in an often restive region. Yet the president's critics have pointed to the striking-off of his potential opponents from running in the upcoming vote as evidence of Ouattara's increasing abuses of power. Besides ex-president Gbagbo, the courts have also prevented his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and ex-prime minister Guillaume Soro from taking part in the race on legal grounds. The PDCI's Thiam, who has been outside Ivory Coast since the middle of March, is barred for issues of nationality. The authorities have insisted that the decisions were taken by the independent courts, denying any political intervention in the electoral processes. © 2025 AFP
