Côte d'Ivoire’s main opposition party has formally named its leader, Tidjane Thiam, as its candidate for the October presidential election.
The 62-year-old former Credit Suisse bank chief executive was the only contender for the centre-right Democratic Party (PDCI).
Tensions in the wealthy West African country are running high six months from the scheduled polling date.
Businessman and former minister Thiam, who is currently outside of Côte d'Ivoire, had to fend off a row over his nationality, with opponents saying his past French citizenship disqualified him from the contest.
Three other prominent figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo, are barred from running.
PDCI support
Thiam obtained 99.5% of the votes at a party convention held on Wednesday, with the turnout at 93%, according to provisional results announced on Thursday.
More than 5,000 PDCI members voted across the country.
Thiam thanked his supporters who had "honoured" him despite "all the venom that was spread" regarding his nationality and his character.
"October 2025 is still a long way off; I know I won't be spared," he added, in an interview posted on social media.
President Alassane Ouattara is serving the third term although the country's constitution limits presidents to two terms.
Thiam became the first Ivorian to pass the entrance exam to Polytechnique, a high-profile French engineering school.
Political come-back
He later returned to Abidjan, where he began his political career and became minister of planning at 36.
But a coup ousted the PDCI from power the following year, in 1999, leading him to embark on a different career path abroad in the private sector.
Following his return to the country’s politics, he assumed the leadership of the PDCI in December 2023.
He has dismissed concerns about his lack of connection with the country after two decades abroad and has sought to turn his international experience into an asset, vowing to "govern differently".
The ruling RHDP party has indicated it will soon nominate President Alassane Ouattara, 83, for re-election for a fourth term.
