Cote d'Ivoire's President Ouattara Bans Opposition to Consolidate Power
Rabat – Cote d'Ivoire's young democratic journey is backsliding as the incumbent president looks to tighten his grip on a presidency he is no longer supposed to run for. In a move aimed at strengthening his position of power in the Ivorian political makeup, President Alassane Ouattara has banned the most influential presidential candidates from the 2025 election.
President Ouattara originally came to power in 2010 after an election against then incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo turned into a civil war, which killed 3000 people.
Ouattara changed the constitution in 2016 to allow himself to run for a third term in 2020, and Ivorians fear he will stand again for reelection in 2025. He has also been accused of gradually becoming increasingly autocratic throughout his presidency.
A popular opposition figure, particularly among young voters, Tidjane Thiam of the Democratic and Peace Party had been rising quickly in the polls. In addition to being the nephew of the country's first President Houphouet-Boigny, Thiam is widely perceived as experienced and competent to run a country that often prides itself as the economic leader in Francophone West Africa.
Disqualifying popular candidates
Despite Thiam receiving overwhelming support within his party and his popularity among younger Ivorians, a court blocked his bid to become presidential candidate in April 2025.
The court notably cast doubt on Thiam's Ivorian nationality, arguing that his holding of French citizenship made him unreliable as the future leader of a sovereign nation. Thiam has contested what he sees as a political trial, noting that he had renounced his French citizenship long before launching his bid to become president of Cote d'Ivoire.
And this week, in a decision that has polarized the West African nation and sent it into crisis, the Independent Electoral Commission announced banning Tidjane Thiam from the electoral list.
Even more controversially, the ban applies to three other candidates whose popularity and political influence could prove a headache for President Ouattara's camp in any election: former president Laurent Gbagbo, former youth leader and political organizer Charles Blé Goudé, and former Ouattara acolyte Guillaume Soro.
A very dependent electoral commission
In a telling sign of political intervention from the presidential camp, the Commission contentiously stated that this list is definitive and would not be revised under any circumstances prior to the October elections. Both independent observers and supporters of the banned presidential hopefuls have accused Ouattara of illegally disqualifying his most formidable opponents to centralize power.
Once hailed in the West as the savior of Ivorian democracy, President Ouattara is now roundly denounced by his opponents and some of his former advocates in the Western press as a power-hungry agent of democratic backsliding in the West African nation.
Thiam has called on the UN to oppose Ouattara's dictatorial project, arguing that the past few years have seen Cote d'Ivoire 'slide towards a total lack of democracy.' Other candidates are qualified to participate in the coming elections, however. These include former First Lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo and former Minister of Commerce Jean-Louis Billon. But neither of these candidates have the same popular support as Thiam and the other banned contenders.
While it is not clear whether the media protestations of the banned candidates will bear any meaningful fruit on the actual political scene, one thing is for certain: this decision means that the October elections will be deeply divisive. Tags: Cote d'Ivoireivory coastOuattarapolitics
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