ICoast PM named ruling party's presidential candidate

Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara's ruling party has named the country's prime minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly as its candidate for the October presidential election.

The move late Thursday comes after Ouattara announced earlier this month that he would not run in the election, ending months of speculation over whether he would seek a third term.

"The political council of the Rally of Humphoutists for Democracy and Peace has unanimously designated me as the party's candidate for the October 2020 presidential election," Coulibaly said in his acceptance speech.

"I am aware of the magnitude of the responsibility and the magnitude of the burden," he added.

The presidential election will be a major challenge for the west African country after its 2010 vote ended in violence between political rivals which killed 3,000 people.