Ivory Coast’s President Ouattara Names Patrick Achi as Prime Minister

By Al Jazeera English

© Achi previously served as chief of staff to President Alassane Ouattara [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters]

IVORY COAST PRESIDENT ALASSANE

OUATTARA named a close confi dant, Patrick Achi, as prime minister, following the death of the West African country’s second premier in less than eight months.

Achi, Ouattara’s former chief of staff , has served as interim prime minister since Hamed Bakayoko, 56, was hospitalised this month with cancer. Bakayoko died on March 10.

Achi’s nomination was announced in a brief statement by Ouattara’s current chief of staff , Fidel Sarassoro.

Bakayoko’s death was another twist in a period of political turbulence for the Ivory Coast. He was appointed prime minister in July after his predecessor, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died of a heart attack.

Gon Coulibaly was slated to be the governing party’s candidate for the October 31, 2020, presidential election. However, his sudden death led incumbent President Alassane Ouattara to run and win a controversial third term, arguing a 2016 constitutional amendment reset the clock on the two-term limit.

Opposition to Ouattara’s candidacy, which relied on a contested interpretation of constitutional term