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| - Ivorian Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the ruling party's candidate in the October presidential election, is still "recovering" in France after heart problems in early May, a government spokesman said on Wednesday. After the closure of Ivory Coast's borders due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 61-year-old prime minister -- who had a heart transplant in 2012 -- travelled to France on May 2 for medical care. He received a stent about a week later after an exam of his coronary arteries, the west African country's government said last month. "As for Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, we are all impatient to see him but rest assured, he is resting, he is recovering and he will be with us very soon," government spokesman Sidi Tiemoko Toure, who is also the communication minister, said at the end of a cabinet meeting. Coulibaly was announced as the candidate for President Alassane Ouattara's party in early March, after Ouattara ended months of speculation and said he would not seek a controversial third term. In late March, Coulibaly announced on Twitter that he had placed himself in voluntary confinement "after being in contact with a person declared positive" for the new coronavirus. In neighbouring Guinea, President Alpha Conde on Wednesday declared he was fit and well, denying rumours that his health was deteriorating. Conde made the comments after Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza suddenly died on Monday at the age of 55, sparking suspicions on the country's social media he died from COVID-19. pgf/erc/pma
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