President Ouattara, who announced last week that he would not seek re-election, told a meeting in the largest city, Abidjan, that Amadou Gon Coulibaly - the current prime minister - had the support of the the vast majority of party members.

It's not yet clear who will oppose Mr Gon Coulibaly in October's presidential election.

Two former presidents - Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié- have not yet said whether they will be candidates.