ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Ivory Coast’s prime minister and its ruling party’s candidate for the October presidential election, has died, President Alassane Ouattara said on Wednesday, adding that the country was mourning.
Gon Coulibaly, 61, became unwell during a weekly cabinet meeting and was evacuated to a hospital where he passed away, Ouattara said.
He was handpicked as the ruling RHDP party’s candidate in March, and had returned to the country on July 2 after a prolonged stay in France to undergo a heart exam and rest. He had heart surgery in 2012.
(Reporting by Ange Aboa, Loucoumane Coulibaly, Aaron Ross and David Lewis; Writing by Bate Felix; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
