[ 2021-03-06 ]

Ivory Coast heads into elections after political turmoil


Ivory Coast was set to vote in a parliamentary
ballot on Saturday in a key test of stability
after presidential elections last year marked by
violence.

Grappling with a deep political crisis, President
Alassane Ouattara has offered an olive branch to
his former rival, Laurent Gbagbo, whose party has
now lifted a decade-long boycott of elections.

His Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) is the driving
force of a centre-left coalition named Together
for Democracy and Solidarity (EDS).

More than 1,500 candidates are vying for the votes
of roughly seven million people in a contest for
the 255-seat National Assembly.

In contrast to the bloodshed that marked the
October 31 presidential polls, campaigning has
been as peaceful as it has been enthusiastic.

All the candidates have pledged support for
peaceful elections and signed up to a code of
conduct.

"The prospect (of a high turnout) favours peaceful
elections," said Adama Bictogo, a candidate for
the constituency of Agboville, near Abidjan.

In the last legislative vote in December 2016,
Ouattara's RHDP party teamed up with the
centre-right Ivory Coast Democratic Party (PDCI),
winning an absolute majority with 167 seats.

But last year's crisis has shattered that deal.

In an unprecedented move, the PDCI has forged an
election alliance with the left-of-centre EDS --
their declared aim is to prevent Ouattara and his
party from "consolidating absolute power."

As a result, some commentators believe these could
be the most open elections in years, with the
prospect that independents could hold the balance
of power.

The October 31 presidential vote was marred by
violence that claimed 87 lives and left hundreds
of wounded.

Clashes had erupted over Ouattara's bid for a
third term -- a plan that critics said sidestepped
constitutional limits.

The 79-year-old was returned to power in a
landslide thanks to an opposition boycott, but the
country was mired in crisis.

Ouattara reached out to Gbagbo, whom he forced out
in April 2011 after a post-election civil war that
claimed several thousand lives and left the
country deeply split.

After his ouster, Gbagbo, 75, was flown to the
International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to
face war crimes charges arising from that
conflict.

He was acquitted in January 2019 and is now living
in Brussels pending the outcome of an appeal.

Ouattara, in his declared vow to seal "national
reconciliation," has issued Gbagbo with two
passports, one of them a diplomatic pass.

Gbagbo previously said he hoped to return in
December but his supporters now say it will be in
mid-March, and have set up a committee to prepare
a spectacular welcome.

A notable absentee on Saturday will be Prime
Minister Hamed Bakayoko, who is seeking
re-election in northern Seguela.

He left for France two weeks ago, purportedly for
medical reasons.

Source - Africannews

... go Back