Ivory Coast’s PM Amadou Gon Coulibaly has died after falling ill at a ministerial meeting.
The 61-year-old had been chosen as the ruling party’s candidate for October’s presidential election, after Alassane Ouattara said he would not seek a third term in office.
Mr Gon Coulibaly had only just returned from France where he had received two-months’ heart treatment.
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President Ouattara said the country was in mourning.
He said Mr Gon Coulibaly had become unwell during a weekly cabinet meeting and was taken to hospital where he later died.
His death creates huge uncertainty over the election.
Mr Gon Coulibaly had received a heart transplant in 2012 and had travelled to Paris on 2 May for the insertion of a stent.
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