Analysts warn Ouattara’s run for a fourth term in Ivory Coast signals a return to authoritarian rule, mirroring democratic backsliding across West Africa.

LAGOS, Nigeria — The decision of Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara to run for a fourth term risks a return to a past era of “old guard dictator rule,” an analyst warned on Wednesday.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said Tuesday that he would seek a fourth term leading the West African nation, which is due to hold an election in October. Ouattara's candidacy is contested after he changed the constitution in 2016 to remove the presidential term limit.