Côte d'Ivoire: PDCI and PPA-CI announce discussions for an agreement

The two former Ivorian presidents Laurent Gbagbo (l.) and Henri Konan Bédié (r.) in the village of Bediekro, Côte d'Ivoire, Sunday, July 11, 2021. AFP - ISSOUF SANOGO

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

In Côte d'Ivoire, discussions have opened between Henri Konan Bédié's PDCI and Laurent Gbagbo's PPA-CI, five months before regional and municipal elections. Negotiations are accelerating with a view to presenting common candidates in certain regions or municipalities.

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With our correspondent in Abidjan, François Hume-Ferkatadji

Over several days, 12 PDCI officials will discuss with 12 APP-CI officials. The two parties notably want to deprive the RHDP presidential party of the communes of Koumassi, Yopougon and Grand-Bassam. In addition, these political parties want to be able to put forward candidates in the 31 regions of the country.

In recent months, the PDCI has remained relatively mysterious about its alliance strategy for local elections. Some observers are even betting on a new rapprochement with the ruling party.

But the unprecedented alliance between the PDCI and the PPA-CI that had given rise to joint candidacies during the 2021 legislative elections could therefore be renewed. However, the negotiations are expected to be tough and should only cover a small number of municipalities or regions: "The alliance of a right-wing or far-right party with a socialist left party is not always obvious," admits a PDCI official.

The rapprochement of the PDCI with the PPA-CI, the party of Laurent Gbagbo, should however complicate the formation of a possible alliance with the Movement Generation Capable of Simone Gbagbo. Neither the MGC nor Charles Blé-Goudé's Cojep are taking part in the ongoing negotiations between the two main opposition parties.

On Wednesday 3 May, shortly after the publication of the list of PDCI candidates, a first dissident candidacy became known. The deputy of Cocody Yasmina Ouegnin will face her comrade of the PDCI, the outgoing mayor of the commune, Jean-Marc Yacé.

But opposition parties continue to denounce the electoral boundaries and the electoral list, a situation that "compromises in advance the acceptance and fairness of the elections," warned Henri Konan Bédié in a speech Saturday, April 29.

► Read also: Côte d'Ivoire: the RHDP and the FPI sign a partnership agreement, a first

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Read on on the same topics:

  • Ivory Coast
  • Henri Konan Bédié
  • Laurent Gbagbo
  • Politics of Côte d'Ivoire