Ivory Coast heads to the polls in an election that could see Ouattara rule for almost 20 years
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Ivory Coast votes Saturday to elect a new leader as longtime President Alassane Ouattara seeks a fourth term.
Polling is expected to open at 8:00 a.m. GMT and close at 6:00 p.m. GMT, with 8.7 million people registered to vote. Turnout was only slightly above 50% in the last two elections. Counting is expected to begin immediately after the polls close.
The election is the latest example of aging men continuing to hold power in Africa, home to the world’s youngest population. Other older African leaders still in power include Paul Biya of Cameroon, 92, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, 81, and Teodoro Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, 83.
Five candidates are jostling for Ivory Coast’s top job, but many see the election as going one way, with Ouattara, the 83-year-old leader of the world’s largest cocoa producer, retaining his seat. If he wins, it would extend his reign for nearly two decades. Ouattara’s party, the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace, or RHDP, also holds the majority of seats in Parliament with 169 seats out of 255.
Ouattara has overseen Ivory Coast’s economic reconstruction since the civil war, achieving an annual growth rate of 6% supported by a cocoa boom. However, 37.5% of the country’s 30 million people still live in poverty and jobs are rare for young people.
Ouattara is challenged by four other candidates, including Simone Gbagbo, former first lady, and Jean-Loius Billion, former trade minister under Ouattara. They all promised jobs and new agricultural policies. Analysts say they have no real chance of overthrowing Ouattara.
At his final rally Thursday in Abidjan, Ouattara told supporters: “The growth has been enormous, but we must continue.”
A former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Ouatarra’s investments in the public sector and infrastructure have won him the sympathy of his supporters.
The run-up to the elections has been marked by protests against the exclusion of major candidates who could pose a challenge to Ouattara’s ambitions. The final list of registered candidates did not include Tidjane Thiam, a former Credit Suisse executive, nor Laurent Gbagbo, a former candidate who still retains the support of a large part of the electoral base.
Their supporters took to the streets, with several hundred people already arrested and dozens more imprisoned. That raised the specter of past election crises that killed at least 3,000 people in 2010 and 2011 and nearly 100 people in 2020. The government also restricted gatherings of people outside the five competing parties and deployed more than 40,000 people across the country.
