Ivory Coast

EPA

A suspected case of coronavirus in the Ivory Coast has tested negative, according to the country’s health authorities.

A student who had travelled from Beijing to Abidjan over the weekend had shown flu-like symptoms, sparking fears the disease had spread to West Africa.

In a statement, the Ivorian health ministry said that tests by research institutes in Ivory Coast and France had come back negative for the virus.

The 34-year-old student was kept in quarantine whilst tests were carried out.

According to the ministry she's been treated for her symptoms and is recovering well.

If the results had been positive, this would have been the first confirmed case in Africa.

Another four suspected cases have been isolated in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, including three students travelling from the epicentre of the outbreak in Wuhan in China.

Officials from the Health Ministry there say initial tests were negative. Meanwhile Kenya has isolated another student from Wuhan who arrived in Nairobi on Tuesday.

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Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara has told the BBC he is "not in a rush" to decide on running for a third term in office in the elections that will be held at the end of October.

President Ouattara has in the past indicated that he will run for the presidency should the leaders of the other main parties, who are also political veterans, do the same.

He told the BBC's Nicolas Negoce at the recent Africa summit in London that:

The election will be free and fair and transparent. The date is 31 October according to the constitution and anyone can run for the job provided that of course the constitution and the electoral code make it possible."

President Alassane Quattara has not made his decision, but I have until the month of July to make a decision... there is no reason for me to rush."

He also denied that the recent arrest warrant against his former ally turned critic Guillaume Soro is related to the upcoming elections.

That is complete nonsense, everyone knows that. I think it is a process which is in the hands of court and he should go back and face the courts, that's all. "

President Ouattara also defended the decision to rename the regional currency from CFA franc to eco.

He said it was made by head of states of the West African Economic and Monetary Union.

Nigeria, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Liberia and Gambia have criticised the move and have asked for an extraordinary summit of leaders of Ecowas - the West African regional group made of 15 nations - to discuss the matter, Bloomberg news reported.

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With news that Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara intends to modify the country’s constitution ahead of presidential elections later this year, there are fears that francophone Africa’s largest economy could be heading towards a political crisis.

Many Ivorians are still reeling from a civil war that ensued after elections in 2010: more than 3,000 people were killed in a stand-off between Mr Ouattara and his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo, who was refusing to accept defeat.

A decade on they had hoped that the country’s divisions were finally healing.

While Mr Ouattara, 78, has said he wants to step down, he has also said he will be a candidate if his rivals - Laurent Gbagbo, 74, and Henri Konan Bédié, 85 - decide to run too.

The two, who are both former presidents, have not yet declared their intentions.

Mr Ouattara did not specify in a New Year’s speech to diplomats how he would change the constitution before the elections in October to make it more “coherent”.

But there is speculation that he could reintroduce an age limit of 75 for candidates – a stipulation that was removed when a new constitution was adopted in 2016.

If this was changed it would stop his rivals but also prevent him from running, though this may suit him if he has a strong younger candidate of his choosing to back.

Modifying the constitution requires approval from the parliament, which is controlled by Mr Ouattara’s allies.

This latest development comes after an arrest warrant was issued for the presidential candidate and opposition leader Guillaume Soro, who could face life imprisonment over an alleged coup plot.

The 47-year-old, a former ally of Mr Ouattara's, has decided to remain in Europe for now to avoid getting arrested, but he denies the allegations and says he still intends to run.

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President Alassane Ouattara of Ivory Coast has said he plans to modify the constitution ahead of the presidential election in October.

He said the proposed changes would make the constitution more coherent, though he did not give any details.

He dismissed speculation that an age limit would be imposed for candidates, which would bar two of his main rivals, Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié from standing.

Mr Ouattara has not said whether he will run for another term.

AFP

Ivory Coast has issued an arrest warrant for former rebel leader and ex-Prime Minister Guillaume Soro who intends to run in next year's presidential election.

Mr Soro had been due to return to the country on Monday after several months abroad but instead landed in Ghana.

Public prosecutor Richard Adou said on state television that an arrest warrant had been issued for alleged breaches of state security, receiving stolen public resources and money laundering.

Mr Soro denies the allegations.

Police fired tear gas to disperse his supporters who were protesting on the streets of Abidjan, the main city in Ivory Coast.

The decision by the 47 year old to run for president appears to have rattled President Alassane Ouattara who may be seeking re-election himself.

Mr Soro had long been an ally of the president but they fell out earlier this year.

Many Ivorians will be worried about next year's election because previous political crises in Ivory Coast have descended into civil war.

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Eight West African countries have agreed to cut some of their financial links with France in a move which will see the end of a currency known as the CFA franc.

Under the deal a new currency called the eco is to be launched. It will still be linked to the euro.

The decision was announced on Saturday during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the region.

For many people living in West Africa using the CFA franc in shops or markets has been a daily reminder of the lingering colonial link with France.

Critics said the system enabled France to benefit long after the blue, white and red flags were lowered at independence especially as it could easily access the region's mineral wealth.

Whilst there has long been a campaign to ditch the currency, which has been in use since just after World War Two, some economists argued that the CFA franc did provide a degree of financial stability.

Being pegged to the old French franc and then the Euro helped the seven former French colonies and Guinea Bissau to keep inflation down and avoid the prospect of Zimbabwean style financial meltdown during turbulent times.

Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara described the decision to scrap the currency as a historic day for West Africa and other politicians in the region will also celebrate the move.

Along with Ivory Coast, the decision affects Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

In a few months’ time these countries plan to have a new currency. Although it will still be pegged to the Euro, the African countries using it will no longer be forced to keep half of their reserves in the French treasury in Paris.

The vast majority of people living in the eight countries are under the age of 30.

So they may be less willing to listen to the politicians who see this move as cutting a colonial link. They will judge its success purely on whether it leaves them wealthier.