Latest news with #DemocraticPartyofIvoryCoast
The Citizen
2 days ago
- General
- The Citizen
Four Ivory Coast opposition figures barred from October presidential vote
Four major opposition figures, including Tidjane Thiam and Laurent Gbagbo, have been excluded from Ivory Coast's electoral roll. Supporters of the Coalition for a Peaceful Alternation gather during their first meeting in Abidjan on May 31, 2025, ahead of presidential election on October 25, 2025. A large opposition coalition in Ivory Coast on Monday reiterated a call for 'dialogue' with the authorities to allow several excluded candidates in this year's elections to stand. They are calling for a revision of the electoral register before October to allow the barred candidates to be registered and for a reform of the independent electoral commission. Four prominent opposition figures have been removed from the electoral register, ruling them out from running in the October 25 presidential ballot. (Photo by Sia KAMBOU / AFP) Four prominent opposition figures in Ivory Coast have been excluded from the final electoral list, officials announced on Wednesday, leaving them ineligible to contest presidential elections later this year. Tidjane Thiam, leader of the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), was struck from the voter roll in April after a court ruling cast doubt on his Ivorian nationality at the time of registration. Ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and exiled former prime minister Guillaume Soro have been barred for years over past convictions and were not reinstated. None of the four will be able to run in the October 25 presidential race or vote. President Alassane Ouattara, 83, who has been in power since 2011, is included on the electoral register but has yet to announce if he will seek a fourth term. In 2015 and 2020, Ouattara won with more than 80 percent of the vote. ALSO READ: Environment minister goes to Côte d'Ivoire to tackle drought, climate change in Africa Electoral commission head Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly had announced on Monday that no revision of the electoral register would take place before the vote. 'My elimination from the electoral list by the independent electoral commission is a sad but eloquent example of Ivory Coast's drift towards a total absence of democracy,' Thiam said in a statement on Wednesday. The former international banker, who has been away from Ivory Coast for more than two months, has appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee, his party said. His lawyer Mathias Chichportich said in a statement sent to AFP that depriving the opposition leader of 'his political rights' was 'a serious violation of Ivory Coast's international commitments'. For its part, Gbagbo's African Peoples' Party – Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) complained that the authorities 'did not choose to listen to the advice, the calls for discussion, for reason', its secretary general Jean-Gervais Tcheide told AFP. 'It's a shame they chose to force their way through,' he said, adding: 'We're not going to let them do it.' ALSO READ: Gold mine leak 'poisons' 185 people in Ivory Coast: officials 'End all disagreement' Other opposition figures who have announced they will run for the presidency are featured on the final electoral list. They include former first lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, who, speaking on behalf of an opposition coalition, said that the conditions were not met for a 'peaceful, calm election'. Kuibiert Coulibaly, the electoral commission chief, has called for court decisions to be respected to 'put an end to all disagreement' and to make Ivory Coast 'a state governed by the rule of law'. Previously, during the 2020 presidential election, a revision of the electoral list took place in June ahead of the October polling day. The final electoral register for this year's ballot includes the names of 8.7 million voters, in a country with a high immigrant population and where nearly half of the 30 million inhabitants are under the age of 18. Authorities deny any political interference in the electoral process, insisting that they respect decisions made by an independent judiciary. NOW READ: Record heat rots cocoa beans threatening Ivory Coast agriculture – By: © Agence France-Presse
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Four Ivory Coast opposition figures barred from October presidential vote
Representative Image (AI-generated) ABIDJAN: Four prominent opposition figures in Ivory Coast have been excluded from the final electoral list, officials announced on Wednesday, leaving them ineligible to contest presidential elections later this year. Tidjane Thiam, leader of the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), was struck from the voter roll in April after a court ruling cast doubt on his Ivorian nationality at the time of registration. Ex-president Laurent Gbagbo, his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and exiled former prime minister Guillaume Soro have been barred for years over past convictions and were not reinstated. None of the four will be able to run in the October 25 presidential race or vote. President Alassane Ouattara, 83, who has been in power since 2011, is included on the electoral register but has yet to announce if he will seek a fourth term. In 2015 and 2020, Ouattara won with more than 80 percent of the vote. Electoral commission head Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly had announced on Monday that no revision of the electoral register would take place before the vote. "My elimination from the electoral list by the independent electoral commission is a sad but eloquent example of Ivory Coast's drift towards a total absence of democracy," Thiam said in a statement on Wednesday. The former international banker, who has been away from Ivory Coast for more than two months, has appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee, his party said. His lawyer Mathias Chichportich said in a statement sent to AFP that depriving the opposition leader of "his political rights" was "a serious violation of Ivory Coast's international commitments". For its part, Gbagbo's African Peoples' Party - Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) complained that the authorities "did not choose to listen to the advice, the calls for discussion, for reason", its secretary general Jean-Gervais Tcheide told AFP. "It's a shame they chose to force their way through," he said, adding: "We're not going to let them do it." End all disagreement: Other opposition figures who have announced they will run for the presidency are featured on the final electoral list. They include former first lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, who, speaking on behalf of an opposition coalition, said that the conditions were not met for a "peaceful, calm election". Kuibiert Coulibaly, the electoral commission chief, has called for court decisions to be respected to "put an end to all disagreement" and to make Ivory Coast "a state governed by the rule of law". Previously, during the 2020 presidential election, a revision of the electoral list took place in June ahead of the October polling day. The final electoral register for this year's ballot includes the names of 8.7 million voters, in a country with a high immigrant population and where nearly half of the 30 million inhabitants are under the age of 18. Authorities deny any political interference in the electoral process, insisting that they respect decisions made by an independent judiciary.
France 24
3 days ago
- General
- France 24
Four Ivory Coast opposition figures barred from October presidential election
Four prominent opposition figures in Ivory Coast have been excluded from the final voter list and are ineligible to contest the October presidential election, the electoral commission announced Wednesday. Tidjane Thiam, the leader of Ivory Coast's main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), was struck from the voter roll in April after a court ruling cast doubt on his Ivorian nationality at the time of registration. The Abidjan court based its ruling on article 48 of the nationality code, dating from the 1960s, which states that acquiring another nationality means foregoing Ivorian citizenship. Born in Ivory Coast, Thiam acquired French nationality in 1987 but gave it up in March to stand in the election. Thiam has "appealed to the UN Human Rights Committee," the PDCI said in a statement. 01:37 Former president Laurent Gbagbo, his former right-hand man Charles Blé Goudé and and exiled former prime minister Guillaume Soro have been barred for years over past convictions and were not reinstated. None of the four will be allowed to contest the presidential race or vote. Electoral commission head Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly said Monday the voter list would not be revised before the 25 October election.
eNCA
16-05-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Ivory Coast opposition leader calls for 'credible' vote
The leader of Ivory Coast's main opposition party on Friday called for an "inclusive, transparent and credible" presidential election, although he is barred from standing due to a dispute over his nationality. The west African country must show that it has reached "a sufficient level of political maturity to stop excluding presidential candidates", Tidjane Thiam said in an interview with AFP in Brussels. Thiam resigned as leader of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) on Monday and was re-elected to the post two days later in a vote where he was the only candidate. A legal dispute over his nationality prompted his resignation in order to stand again and win re-election. But the move has not resolved the question of his eligibility to run for president of Ivory Coast in the October 25 election. Three other opposition figures have also been excluded from the presidential race due to convictions, including former president Laurent Gbagbo. "The essential thing is for Ivory Coast to hold an inclusive, transparent and credible election, and to show that it is capable of a peaceful transfer of power, as Senegal and Ghana have done," Thiam said. The 62-year-old, who has been outside the country for nearly two months, was struck off the electoral list by an Abidjan court last month. The court said Thiam lost his Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987, basing its ruling on a 1961 law. "That law is obsolete, it has never been applied to anyone in 64 years, and they've used it to erase me from the electoral list," said Thiam, a great-nephew of Ivory Coast's founding president Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Thiam, who was born in Ivory Coast, renounced his French nationality in March to enable his run for the top job. The authorities have consistently denied political interference in the election process, insisting that such decisions rest with an independent judiciary. Thiam was in Brussels to attend a protest by Ivorian opposition supporters outside European Union institutions. He said he had no plans to return home yet, citing uncertainty over the status of his identity documents. "We asked for a nationality certificate from the justice ministry 10 days ago and we're still waiting... You need valid papers to travel, that's the decision of the authorities," he said. According to Thiam, his national status -- whether single or dual citizenship –- remains unclear. "I was told I'm Ivorian again, but through a mechanism that nobody understands. "Some accuse me of having fraudulently regained Ivorian nationality." Ivorian authorities insist that only the courts can change the electoral list now.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ivory Coast opposition leader resigns but vows to still fight for victory
Ivory Coast's main opposition leader has said he is resigning as party leader but would still lead the fight to win the election, after having been barred from standing in an October presidential vote. 'In the interest of the party, I've decided to place my mandate as president of the party in your hands, the activists,' Thiam said in a speech published on social media on Monday. 'This decision does not change the commitment I made in December 2023 to personally lead our party to victory in October 2025.' President Alassane Ouattara, 83, who has been in power since 2011, has yet to say whether he plans to run again but has said he is eager to 'continue serving my country'. Tidjane Thiam's campaign for the presidency of the West African country has been mired in tussles over his nationality, as presidential candidates are not allowed to hold dual citizenship. Thiam was born in the Ivory Coast and renounced his French passport in March to enable his run for the top job. However, a court in Abidjan struck him off the electoral list last month, saying the 62-year-old politician had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987. Thiam also faces a legal case against his election as head of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast–African Democratic Rally (PDCI) after a party member also contested his Ivorian nationality at the time he was chosen. PDCI deputy president Ernest N'Koumo Mobio assumed the party's interim leadership following Thiam's announcement. He appealed for 'cohesion, serenity and discipline' and called a party meeting early Monday due to 'the urgency linked to the political situation'. Three other opposition figures have also been excluded from the presidential race, including former President Laurent Gbagbo due to court convictions. Thiam alleged irregularities on Monday. 'While we had the right to hope for inclusive, transparent and peaceful elections, it is clear that the unjustified removal of the PDCI candidate is part of the logic of eliminating the leaders of the main opposition parties to ensure tailor-made elections and a certain victory,' he said. The authorities regularly reject claims of any political intervention in the electoral process, saying decisions are taken by an independent judiciary.
