The former president of Côte d'Ivoire, Henri Konan Bédié, called on Sunday September 20, on behalf of the opposition, for "civil disobedience" in the face of the "forfeiture" of the controversial candidacy of the leader of the Alassane Ouattara State in the presidential election of October 31.

"Faced with the forfeiture, only one slogan: civil disobedience," said Henri Konan Bédié, greeted by thunderous applause at the end of a high mass which brought together the main opposition parties at the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), AFP noted.

The former head of state (1993-99) has established himself as the leader of the opposition since he broke up with Alassane Ouattara two years ago.

He did not specify any modality of action for this "civil disobedience", a formula which was preferred to a boycott of the presidential election, a hypothesis mentioned previously.

No common opposition strategy

Driven from power by a military coup in 1999, Henri Konan Bédié still hopes to return: at the age of 86, the head of the PDCI is one of the four candidates selected for the presidential election by the Constitutional Council.

At his side on Sunday were present Assoa Adou, the secretary general of the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, and Zié Koné for the Générations et Peuples Solidaires (GPS) movement of Guillaume Soro, considered as the other forces main parties of the Ivorian opposition - as well as other small parties.

On the other hand, was absent the opponent Pascal Affi N'Guessan, one of the presidential candidates, leader of the so-called "reformist" wing of the FPI, which opposes the pro-Gbagbo "legitimist" wing.

If the opposition is unanimous against the candidacy for a third term of Alassane Ouattara, long described as "forfeiture" and "violation of the Constitution" Sunday by the speakers, it is struggling to find a common strategy in the face of power, and no electoral union has so far not been announced.

Fear of deadly violence

Even if the opposition says it wants to "restore the rule of law and democracy", according to Henri Konan Bédié, this call for "civil disobedience" could lead to a further escalation of tension in Côte d'Ivoire, to a little more one month from the presidential election.

The fear of deadly violence is strong in this West African country, ten years after the post-electoral crisis resulting from the 2010 presidential election which left 3,000 dead.

About 15 people died in August in violence following the announcement of President Ouattara's candidacy for a third term.

Scuffles took place again Tuesday in several localities after the announcement of the Constitutional Council of the list of candidates selected for the ballot.

The opposition calls for the dissolution of the Independent Electoral Commission and the Constitutional Council, which it considers "subservient" to power and therefore unable to organize a "transparent" election.

Elected in 2010, re-elected in 2015, Alassane Ouattara, 78, announced in March that he was giving up running for a third term, before changing his mind in August, after the death of his designated dolphin, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.

With AFP

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