In the spotlight: the Ivorian quagmire

Audio 04:08

"I am a candidate for the presidential election on October 31," announced Alassane Ouattara in his speech to the nation.

Press Service of the Presidency / Handout via REUTERS

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

9 min

Publicity

The third mandate of Alassane Ouattara in Côte d'Ivoire begins in pain ... Murderous violence, boycott of the opposition, refusal of results, legal proceedings ... the crisis is deepening its wake.

The Ivorian news site

Le Point Sur

notes the damage: " 

from the pre-electoral crisis to the post-electoral crisis, the speeches and actions of Ivorian politicians, marked by verbal violence, provoke intercommunity clashes, the destabilization of powers. public, thus calling into question the fragile social cohesion.

(…) The opposition is intimidated and gagged by the authorities.

The tone of speeches, both in opposition and in power, remains unchanged.

Fear is winning over the populations in a country which has difficulty putting together the pieces of a precarious peace, shattered, in tatters for months.

 "

Yesterday, points the

Infodrome

, another Ivorian news site, " 

the president of the FPI, Pascal Affi N'Guessan was placed under a committal warrant, with no less than 30 charges against him.

 At the same time, " 

President Ouattara says he is open to dialogue, wants a meeting with Henri Konan Bédié for a frank exchange in the days to come and calls on the National Transitional Council (formed by the opposition) to put an end to to his actions.

 "

Calm and dialogue!

So some shout " 

stop the fire!"

 ”, Like Antoine Assalé Tiemoko, mayor of the municipality of Tiassalé, who publishes a column in the weekly

L'Eléphant Déchaîné

.

Here is an excerpt: “ 

As in 1995, as in 2000, as in 2002, as in 2004, as in 2010, Ivorian political actors, since last August, have been talking to each other but no longer get along.

Everything has become threats, balance of power, accusations and reciprocal hatred in the conquest or the retention of power.

(…) Faced with such a situation,

continues Antoine Assalé Tiemoko,

faced with the serious dangers which threaten our country, we can only call on all parties for calm and dialogue.

Above all, we can only call on the power in place to give a chance to the discussion through rapid appeasement measures, by suspending the proceedings today against leaders of the civil opposition in order to give a chance to dialogue .

(…) The reconciliation that everyone promotes cannot be achieved by excluding some Ivorians, whether on the side of power or the opposition.

 "

Regain confidence

Indeed, adds political analyst Sylvain N'Guessan, interviewed by

Le Point Afrique

, " 

there is only dialogue to get out of this situation of political crisis

 ", although the opposition is divided and weak.

Ouattara could form a government of national unity and agree to reform the electoral commission

 " with a view to the legislative elections, he continues.

But first, we say on the side of power " 

the opposition must recognize the victory of Alassane Ouattara

 ".

“ 

For the moment,

notes

Le Point Afrique

,

President Ouattara has adopted a firm attitude towards opponents.

However, he must come out of the quagmire and regain the confidence of the international community, which did not appreciate his candidacy for a third term.

 "

Make way for the younger generation?

There are no solutions other than dialogue, insists

Le Pays

au Burkina: " 

if the authorities in place in Abidjan welcome without condescension the possibility of a negotiation and avoid falling into the fierce repression of any dissonant voice, as feared in the ranks of the opposition, then Côte d'Ivoire could avoid the deadly post-election crisis that ominous birds had quickly predicted.

We hope that the three heads of the political gondola in this country that are Henri Konan Bédié, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara will be keen to leave the scene with dignity in the months or years to come, without shedding a single drop of blood. of their compatriots because of their vengeful or megalomaniac impulses.

 "

Finally,

WakatSéra

, still in Burkina Faso, raises the tone: “ 

strong men, ready to remain in power ad vitam aeternam, the black continent no longer needs them.

African countries, in search of stability and social cohesion, rather seek to base their development on strong institutions.

It is time,

continues

WakatSéra, for intergenerational change to become a reality, to give new dynamism to countries like Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea which are seriously hurting their political classes suffering from sclerosis to make monarchies green with jealousy. or the old iron regimes à la Idi Amin Dada

.

"

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Alassane Ouattara

  • Ivory Coast

  • Newspaper