Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports that the President of the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, will seek a third term in office.

President Ouattara has registered to stand as his party's candidate in Côte d'Ivoire's forthcoming presidential election. The Independent Electoral Commission in Côte d'Ivoire is responsible for reviewing the eligibility of candidates alongside the Constitutional Council. The final list of eligible candidates will be published later this month.

We believe long term peace and stability in Côte d'Ivoire can best be achieved through peaceful, free and credible elections, in line with international law, and encourage all parties to work towards this goal. We urge all parties to participate responsibly, engage fully in the process, avoid the use of inflammatory language, and denounce violence and hate speech. To support these aims, our Embassy in Abidjan is supporting security forces' training focused on ensuring public security during the election period is maintained, including respect for human rights. We are following developments closely and expect elections to be conducted transparently, following due process before and during the poll in October.