ABIDJAN – Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara was set to secure a fourth term yesterday as early results indicated a landslide win in a weekend poll that excluded two of his main rivals. 

Nearly nine million voters were eligible to cast their ballot Saturday in the world’s top cocoa producer, which has resisted coups and jihadist attacks plaguing much of West Africa.

The electoral commission was due to proclaim the winner Monday afternoon, with final results expected by midday.

Ouattara was anticipated to have swept the polls after early tallies on Sunday showed him winning upwards 90 percent of the votes, with turnout close to 100 percent in northern strongholds.

The political veteran was also ahead in traditionally pro-opposition areas in the south and parts of the economic hub Abidjan, where polling stations had been almost empty on Saturday.

Electoral commission president Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert earlier put turnout at around 50 percent — a similar level to 2020, when Ouattara won 94 percent of the vote in an election boycotted by the main opponents.

This time around, Ouattara’s leading rivals — former president Laurent Gbagbo and Credit Suisse ex-CEO Tidjane Thiam — were both barred from standing, Gbagbo for a criminal conviction and Thiam for having acquired French nationality.

“Their absence, their calls not to participate in the election, and the climate of tension that deteriorated in recent days foretold a significant demobilisation of the electorate,” said William Assanvo, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

In the southern city of Gagnoa, Gbagbo’s former stronghold, Ouattara won 92 percent of the vote but with a turnout rate of only 20 percent.
The opposition has already denied “any legitimacy” to Ouattara and has called for new elections. 

– Nampa/AFP