ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara said Tuesday he will seek a fourth term leading the West African nation, which is due to hold elections in October.

His candidacy is contested after he changed the constitution to remove the presidential term limit.

The 83-year-old president declared his plan in a televised announcement. He won a third term in 2020 after he initially said he wasn’t going to run again. However, he changed his position following the death of his hand-picked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.

“I am a candidate, because the constitution allows me to seek another term, and my health allows it,” Ouattara said.

His most prominent rival, Tidjane Thiam, has already been barred from running by a court on the grounds that he was st

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