The President of Côte d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan on October 31, 2020. -

CHINE NOUVELLE / SIPA

Elected in 2010, reelected in 2015, Alassane Ouattara, 78, has just obtained a third presidential term of five years in Ivory Coast on the river score of 94.27% in the first round.

His election, the results of which were announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Tuesday, is controversial, the opposition having boycotted the ballot.

An election marked by violence

According to the president of the CEI, Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, the participation rate is 53.90%.

The outgoing president collected 3,031,483 votes out of a total of 3,215,909 votes cast in this ballot marked by violence.

Some 17,601 offices out of 22,381 were able to open, the number of registered voters being able to vote thus increased from 7,495,082 to 6,066,441 registered.

Opposition activists ransacked or prevented the opening of other offices.

Independent candidate Kouadio Konan Bertin came in second with 1.99% of the vote (64,011 votes).

Two other candidates, who had called for a boycott, still received votes.

Former President Henri Konan Bédié finished 3rd with 1.66% (53,330 votes) and ex-Prime Minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan fourth with 0.99% (31,986 votes).

The CEI has three days to transmit these results to the Constitutional Council, which has seven days to validate them.

A controversial candidacy

At the start of the year, it was far from clear that Alassane Ouattara would still be sitting in her chair for the next five years.

He had indeed announced in March that he was giving up a new candidacy, before changing his mind in August, following the death of his designated dolphin, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.

Above all, the Ivorian fundamental law provides for a maximum of two terms, but the Constitutional Council estimated that with the new Constitution adopted in 2016, the presidential term counter has been reset.

What the opposition disputes.

On Monday, that is to say before the results, the opposition announced that it had created a "National Transitional Council (...) chaired by Mr. Bédié" with the aim of forming a "transitional government".

The climate is therefore particularly tense.

At least 9 people died in the violence during the ballot or in its wake.

Before the election, around 30 people had died in inter-communal unrest and violence since August and the announcement of Alassane Ouattara's candidacy.

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  • Violence

  • Presidential election

  • West Africa

  • Ivory Coast

  • Alassane Ouattara

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