(Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast's youngest and most media-savvy politician, Guillaume Soro, asked his Twitter followers to design a logo, write a slogan and come up with a theme song for his latest political movement.
In a country dominated by aging leaders who rule strictly from the top down and don't take kindly to feedback, Soro's contest is guaranteed to win him attention, if not more youth support, ahead of next year's presidential elections. An earlier note to his 850,000 followers already urged Ivorians in Europe to get in touch via social media if they want Soro to visit them for a so-called #JeCrushSoro party.
Even though the 46-year-old former rebel leader hasn't yet said whether he'll run, the several “platforms” and crowdfunding campaigns he initiated in recent months are seen as evidence of his ambition to become the West African nation's next president. In a nod to France's Emmanuel Macron, who burst onto the political scene in 2016 with En Marche!, Soro has made sure his movement GPS carries some of his initials, too.
Either way, Soro, who resigned as national assembly speaker in February after falling out with President Alassane Ouattara, “will be significant in framing the discussion” as campaigning gears up, said Amaka Anku, Africa analyst at New York-based Eurasia Group.
To contact the reporter on this story: Leanne de Bassompierre in Abidjan at ldebassompie@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Richardson at pmrichardson@bloomberg.net, Pauline Bax, Andre Janse van Vuuren
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