Latest news with #AlassaneOuattara
Associated Press
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Ivory Coast leader's bid for a fourth term after rivals sidelined is seen as a risk for democracy
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The decision of Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara to run for a fourth term risks a return to a past era of 'old guard dictator rule,' an analyst warned on Wednesday. Ibrahim Anoba, an Africa affairs analyst at the Atlas Network, was speaking a day after Ouattara ended months of speculation about his contested candidacy with an announcement that is likely to lead to a near-guaranteed extension of a presidency that started in 2010. While Ouattara, 83, said his decision to run was informed by the 'unprecedented security, economic, and monetary challenges' the country faces, his announcement comes after the disqualification of most of his prominent rivals, including former Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam. After changing the constitution in 2016 to remove presidential term limits, Ouattara is the latest leader in West and Central Africa to attempt to stay in power with little or no challenge from a weakened opposition. Togo's Faure Gnassingbé swapped the presidential system with a parliamentary system and introduced a new all-powerful role, while in Cameroon Paul Biya is eyeing an eighth term after being in power since 1982, nearly half his lifetime. Central African Republic's Faustin Touadera is seeking a third term amid a constitutional controversy. With Ivory Coast considered a regional powerhouse, analysts say a weakened opposition and the constitutional change that kept Ouattara in power after abolishing initial term limits could lead the country to an era of one-man rule, especially in a region where democracy is increasingly being challenged. Opposition protests against Ouattara have been blocked, and several protesters have been arrested and accused of disturbing public order. 'We might be sliding back to that era of old men, old guard dictator rule in West Africa because (of) the attitude of the military and equally the civilian rulers,' said Anoba. 'And the announcement of Ouattarra is a reflection of that reality.' Opposition politicians are now rallying against Ouattara, which could feed into a growing wave of discontent among citizens battling declining economies and security challenges. 'It is a repetition of the same problem that we have seen lead to the same consequences,' said Anoba. West and Central Africa has recorded 8 coups since 2020, with the military juntas sometimes pointing to the lack of fair democratic processes as one of their reasons for deposing elected governments. A spate of power grabs by military powers has reconfigured the region's geopolitical lines and split the decades-old regional bloc known as ECOWAS. Periodic elections have been used by others to maintain democratic credentials, but analysts say the trend of constitutional changes and attacks on opposition have been no different from the military powers that have all extended their stay in power. 'What we are having at the moment across West and Central Africa is status-quo elections,' said Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at Control Risks. 'They end up reinforcing the authority and executive power of the incumbent in a way the opposition parties are not able to challenge it.' Ochieng added: 'There is also almost like an equivalent in the sense that people want to prolong their stay in power and are willing to use constitutional and transitional means to achieve.' Ivory Coast has maintained its reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies, especially after its ruinous civil wars. It has established itself as a major African economic power, mostly due to the policies of Ouattara's presidency. However, beneath the veneer of stability is a firm grip on government institutions that makes it impossible for the opposition to challenge the ruling party, analysts say. Ivory Coast has frequently experienced electoral violence, which has killed several people, even pushing it close to another civil war in 2011 when then-leader Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat after losing the election, and some 3,000 people were killed in the violence that followed.
Washington Post
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Ivory Coast leader's bid for a fourth term after rivals sidelined is seen as a risk for democracy
LAGOS, Nigeria — The decision of Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara to run for a fourth term risks a return to a past era of 'old guard dictator rule,' an analyst warned on Wednesday. Ibrahim Anoba, an Africa affairs analyst at the Atlas Network, was speaking a day after Ouattara ended months of speculation about his contested candidacy with an announcement that is likely to lead to a near-guaranteed extension of a presidency that started in 2010.
TimesLIVE
10 hours ago
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Ivory Coast President Ouattara, 83, in pole position for fourth term
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara's decision to seek re-election in October means the world's top cocoa-producing nation will again have to wait on his promise to pass the baton to a new generation of political leaders. But the 83-year-old former international banker is hoping a strong economy and a weak field of challengers will propel him to a fourth term, extending a period of relative stability after the civil war that brought him to power in 2011. Ouattara made his announcement on Tuesday, saying his health was not an issue. With the country's most high-profile opposition politicians ruled ineligible, he is the clear front-runner. A US-trained economist whose resume includes stints as governor of the West African central bank (BCEAO) and deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ouattara has long pitched himself as a savvy technocrat capable of delivering steady growth. The numbers back him up, with the IMF projecting GDP to increase to 6.3% this year, in line with the average over the past decade.
DW
a day ago
- Business
- DW
Ivory Coast President Ouattara seeks fourth term – DW – 07/29/2025
A former banker, President Alassane Ouattara did well for the country's economy, but critics accuse him of tightening his grip on power and strongly oppose his reelection bid. He has led the Ivory Coast since 2011. Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said on Tuesday that he will seek a fourth term in the country's October 25 presidential election, while tensions rise over the exclusion of several prominent opposition candidates. Ouattara had been nominated by his party, the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), but he waited until Tuesday to confirm he would run. The opposition, however, has said a fourth term would be unconstitutional. "I am a candidate because the constitution of our country allows me to run for another term and my health permits it," Ouattara said. The 83-year-old Ouattara is a former international banker and has led Ivory Coast since 2011. Previously, he had said he would like to step down. Ouattara, an economist trained in the US, has long pitched himself as a savvy technocrat capable of delivering steady growth. The numbers support him, with the IMF projecting GDP growth of 6.3% this year, matching the average from the past decade. Ouattara has made deals that helped him win two earlier reelections and stopped the kind of widespread violence that happened after he beat Laurent Gbagbo in 2010. Gbagbo's refusal to accept defeat sparked a brief civil war that killed over 3,000 people and ended only when he was arrested in a bunker at his Abidjan residence. After having served his limit of two terms, Ouattara was only able to run for a third after a new constitution reset his time in office. The opposition boycotted the 2020 vote, and Ouattara won by a landslide. The vote, however, was marred when at least 85 people were killed in the ensuing unrest. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Political analyst Arthur Banga said Ouattara's "primary success has been on the macroeconomic side" and restoring the Ivory Coast's "international influence." "But there are still democratic challenges to overcome," he added, citing lingering fears of election-related violence. Critics accuse the president of tightening his grip on power and strongly oppose his reelection bid. The opposition has accused authorities of using legal means to target their rivals and exclude Ouattara's opponents from elections. Ouattara's most prominent rival, Tidjane Thiam, was legally kept from running when a court ruled he was a French citizen at the time he declared his candidacy despite later renouncing his French nationality. Ivorian law bans dual nationals from running for president. The government insists the judiciary operates independently. The two main opposition parties have launched a joint campaign demanding the reinstatement of their barred leaders ahead of the presidential election.
The Hill
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Ivory Coast's president will seek a fourth term after the disqualification of rivals
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said Tuesday that he would seek a fourth term leading the West African nation, which is due to hold an election in October. Ouattara's candidacy is contested after he changed the constitution in 2016 to remove the presidential term limit. The 83-year-old president declared his plan in a televised announcement. He won a third term in 2020 after he initially said that he wasn't going to run again. However, he changed his position following the death of his handpicked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly. 'I am a candidate, because the constitution allows me to seek another term, and my health allows it,' Ouattara said. His most prominent rival, Tidjane Thiam, has already been barred from running by a court on the grounds that he was still a French citizen at the time he declared his candidacy, even though he later renounced his French nationality. Ivorian law bans dual nationals from running for president. Elections in Ivory Coast have usually been fraught with tension and violence. When Ouattara announced his bid for a third term, several people were killed in the ensuing violence. There have been protests against the court's decision to exclude Thiam from competing in the election. Ouattara is the latest among a growing number of leaders in West Africa who remain in power by changing the constitutional term limit. Coup leaders in the region have used alleged corruption within democratic governments and electoral changes as a pretext to seize power, leading to a split in the regional bloc called the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS. 'For those critical of ECOWAS and civilian governments, Ouattara's decision just reinforces the legitimacy crisis everyone in the region is facing. It makes people like Ouattara look like hypocrites,' Nat Powell, Africa analyst at Oxford Analytica, told The Associated Press. Ouattara justified his decision to run by saying that the Ivory Coast is facing unprecedented security, economic and monetary challenges that require experience to manage them effectively. Over the past decade, groups linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have been spreading from the Sahel region into wealthier West African coastal states, such as Ivory Coast, Togo and Benin. Ivory Coast's economy has also struggled with U.S. tariffs and climate-related disruptions to its vital cocoa sector. The country is the world's leading exporter of cocoa beans, and produces more than a third of the world's supply.
