Ivorian Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko left Abidjan for France, Thursday February 18, by “A special flight” for health reasons, AFP learned from a source close to his entourage. “He arrived (in France) accompanied by his wife for a medical appointment ”, said this source who claimed that he was not “Neither bedridden nor on a stretcher”. This information had not been confirmed from an official source Thursday evening.
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Aged 55, Hamed Bakayoko, known as “Hambak”, succeeded in July 2020 as Prime Minister to Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who died a few days after his return from hospitalization and a two-month convalescence in France for heart problems. President Alassane Outtara, to whom he was very close, presented Amadou Gon Coulibaly as his party’s candidate for the October 2020 presidential election. His death prompted President Ouattara to stand for this election, while he had announced that he would not not wanting to run for a third term. Alassane Ouattara was largely re-elected in this ballot boycotted by the opposition who called for the “civil disobedience”. The electoral violence linked to this presidential election left 87 dead and nearly 500 injured.
Mr. Bakayoko’s departure to France for health reasons came two weeks before the legislative elections on March 6 were held. President Ouattara hoped Tuesday that this election will strengthen the majority of his government in the National Assembly.
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