Côte d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara said on Thursday he would like to continue serving his country as president but emphasised that his party had not yet made a formal decision on its candidate for this year's election.
Ouattara, 83, was re-elected for a third term in 2020 following a 2016 constitutional referendum allowing him to extend his rule.
During the last election, Ouattara had argued that the approval of the new constitution allowed him to restart his mandate.
He has previously said he would like to step down, but also suggested he would need old rivals to commit to withdrawing from politics too.
"I am in good health and eager to continue serving my country," he said in an address to the diplomatic corps in Abidjan, the strongest signal yet that he plans to stand again.
Gbagbos comeback
Former First Lady Simone Gbagbo, the ex-wife of former Côte d'Ivoire's President Laurent Gbagbo, announced last month that she would run for president in 2025.
Former President Gbagbo, Ouattara's long-time rival, has also accepted his party's offer to run for the top job again despite being disqualified by a 20-year jail sentence, his party announced in March 2024.
Gbagbo was the first former head of state to go on trial before the International Criminal Court in The Hague where he was acquitted in 2019.
In September, the incumbent ruling party expressed its support for a potential Ouattara candidacy in the October 2025 election, but the official nomination and acceptance have yet to take place.
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