77-year old Ouattara threatens to run for a 3rd and 4th term, perhaps to control his succession

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Nice analysis by Robbie Corey-Boulet (World Politics Review) of the run-up to the presidential election in Cote d'Ivoire. Read the whole thing; here are some highlights:
The quiet, behind-the-scenes preparations for Cote d’Ivoire’s next presidential election in 2020 were given a jolt this week by a man many expected would play only a supporting role in the process. In an interview published Sunday by the magazine Jeune Afrique, President Alassane Ouattara, who is nearing the end of his second term, said the West African nation’s new constitution would enable him to run twice more, in 2020 and again in 2025. 
Cote d’Ivoire limits presidents to two terms, and Ouattara had previously said numerous times that he would abide by the restriction. But by claiming that the new constitution, adopted in 2016, gives him a clean slate, he seemed to be openly flirting with the kind of power grab typical of other African presidents who are more interested in their own longevity than championing open democracies.

In all likelihood, however, Ouattara’s comments are not a sign that he wants to be president-for-life. Rather, he apparently hopes he can stage-manage a succession that serves his interests. ...

If Ouattara were to try to stay in power, he would risk jeopardizing his reputation, ... Yet some analysts were quick to note that it’s just as likely that Ouattara’s plans to leave office in 2020 haven’t really changed. His comments to Jeune Afrique, they say, should instead be seen as part of a strategy to assert control over what is shaping up to be a contentious succession battle, the outcome of which will no doubt color his legacy.

That battle has been playing out since even before the 2015 election, as presidential aspirants within the ruling coalition have tried to position themselves to take power. The coalition brings together Ouattara’s Rally of the Republicans party, or RDR, and Bedie’s Democratic Party of Cote d’Ivoire, or PDCI. After supporting Ouattara during the 2010 runoff against Gbagbo and again in 2015, PDCI members insist the next president should come from their ranks. Possible candidates include Vice President Daniel Kablan Duncan and Jean-Louis Billon, a former commerce minister.

Ouattara, though, is widely believed to prefer Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly of the RDR. To reduce the odds of the coalition fracturing, he has also been pushing for the creation of a unified political party that would enable the two camps to join forces and choose a presidential candidate through a primary system. ...  By threatening to run again, Ouattara may be trying to scare the coalition’s factions into hashing out their differences so that an obvious successor can emerge. ...

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