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Côte d’Ivoire was due to vote in a parliamentary poll on Saturday in a key test of stability after last year’s violent presidential elections.
In the midst of a deep political crisis, President Alassane Ouattara offered an olive branch to his former rival, Laurent Gbagbo, whose party has now lifted the boycott of the elections for ten years.
Its Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) is the driving force behind a center-left coalition called Together for Democracy and Solidarity (EDS).
More than 1,500 candidates are vying for the votes of around seven million people in a contest for the 255-seat National Assembly.
Unlike the bloodshed that marked the October 31 presidential elections, the campaign was as peaceful as it was enthusiastic.
Ivory Coast. By (AFP) All the candidates pledged to support peaceful elections and signed a code of conduct.
“The prospect (of a high turnout) favors peaceful elections,” said Adama Bictogo, candidate for Agboville constituency, near Abidjan.
In the last legislative vote in December 2016, Ouattara’s RHDP party joined forces with the center-right Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), winning an absolute majority with 167 seats.
But last year’s crisis shattered that deal.
New alliances
In an unprecedented move, the PDCI forged an electoral alliance with the center-left EDS – their stated aim is to prevent Ouattara and his party from “consolidating absolute power”.
As a result, some commentators believe it could be the most open election in years, with the prospect of independents being able to maintain the balance of power.
The presidential election on October 31 was marked by violence that left 87 dead and hundreds injured.
Laurent Gbagbo, on the left, and Alassane Ouattara, at the height of their power struggle in December 2010. By ISSOUF SANOGO, KAMBOU SIA (AFP / File) Clashes erupted over Ouattara’s candidacy for a third term – a plan that critics say has circumvented constitutional boundaries.
The 79-year-old was brought back to power in a landslide thanks to an opposition boycott, but the country was in crisis.
Ouattara contacted Gbagbo, whom he expelled in April 2011 after a post-election civil war that left several thousand dead and left the country deeply divided.
After his ouster, Gbagbo, 75, was airlifted to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to face war crimes charges stemming from the conflict.
He was acquitted in January 2019 and now lives in Brussels awaiting the outcome of an appeal.
Ouattara, in his declared wish to seal “national reconciliation”, issued Gbagbo with two passports, including a diplomatic passport.
Gbagbo had previously said he hoped to return in December, but his supporters now say it will be in mid-March and have set up a committee to prepare for a spectacular welcome.
A notable absentee on Saturday will be Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko, who is seeking re-election in northern Seguela.
He left for France two weeks ago, allegedly for medical reasons.
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