Ivory Coast President Ouattara says he will run for third term

FILE PHOTO; Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara attends the meeting of the political committee of Ivory Coast's ruling RHDP party to select their candidate for October's presidential election in Abidjan, Ivory Coast July 29, 2020. REUTERS/Luc Gnago

ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said on Thursday he would seek re-election in October, formally accepting the ruling party's nomination to be its candidate and defying opponents who say the constitution forbids a third term.

Ouattara, who has governed since 2011, said in March he would not run again. But his preferred successor, then-prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died in July, leading the party to ask Ouattara to reconsider.