Ivoiriens elect a new president tomorrow,writes VICTOR C. ARIOLE
Come tomorrow, 25th October, 2025, Ivoiriens trouping to the polls will let the world know if they want to perpetuate Alasane Ouattara as the indispensable maximum ruler of Côte d’Ivoire or decide otherwise with the only viable candidate facing him being the estranged wife of Laurent Gbagbo – the man who, thrice challenged the established order set by the founding President of Côte d’Ivoire, Felix Houphouet-Boigny. Felix Houphouet Boigny and his followers do not believe in either socialism or communism hence his preference for either Alasane Ouattara – his Prime Minister, or Henri Konan Bedie – President of the National Assembly, then – as his viable successors. Both of them IMF/World Bank Protégées.
They all, once, served IMF/World Bank also. Henry Konan Bedie served out his first term – 1993 – 1998, with interim period added. He created problem for himself by insisting that Alasane Ouattara must not be allowed to contest against him on the grounds of “Ivoirité” – Mother and father must be Ivoirien to be eligible as a Presidential candidate. Protest went on against that till an Army General – Robert Guei took over the realm of power in 1999 and tried to organize fresh elections and foolishly joined as candidate.
He declared himself the winner but Ivoiriens could not take the insult hence they marched to the State House and deposed him to allow Laurent Gbagbo, a fellow contestant to assume the presidency. Laurent Gbagbo was at the helm of affairs in a tumultuous Côte d’Ivoire from 26th October 2000 to 11th April 2011 when he was brutally removed by the help of France to restore Alasane Ouattara as the winner of the election held, in still a divided Côte d’Ivoire in a civil war between North and South that started on 19th September 2002 and ended on 4th March 2007 forcing even the relocation of African Development Bank to Tunisia.
Gbagbo was President without election till 2010. Elections were postponed due to civil war. The peace accord of 2007 allowed Alasane Ouattara to stand as candidate on 25th October 2010; and he won the election but Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede power to him. It was assumed that it was second term election for Laurent Gbagbo who has been enabled by the civil war to be in power. The same scenario is about to repeat itself as Ivoiriens go to the polls on 25th October 2025. The constitutional council that regulates how public powers are to function and the Independent Electoral Commission in charge of organizing and managing elections seem not to be in sync on who must stand for presidential election.
Two powerful contestants are declared ineligible by the constitutional council; Laurent Gbagbo based on his court conviction yet to run its full course and Tidjani Thiam – a Senegalese Ivoirien – based on his double nationality of France and Côte d’Ivoire. Tidjani Thiam, massively favoured in line with what Felix Houphouet Boigny’s PDCI – RDA stands for; and presented as their best candidate, has renounced his France’s nationality just of recent. While that seems not be the issue, the electoral body is worried that he is not registered as an electorate, and could easily toe the line of its law that does not make it compulsory for a presidential candidate to be or not to be on electoral list. A great dilemma.
PDCI – RDA (Parti Démocratique de la Côte d’Ivoire – Ressemblement Démocratique Africain) is the leading Party in Francophone Africa at Independence, differing from Senghor’s Socialist Party and Modibo Keita’s Communist inclined Mali. Tidjani Thiam is leading the party as at today in Côte d’Ivoire and it is the same Party that gave Alasane Ouattara the shine he is enjoying today notwithstanding his new party still coined in line with PDCI – Rassemblement Des Houphouetistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix (RHDP). Even Simone Gbagbo with her new party of Mouvement des Générations Capables (MGC) is somehow Houphouetist oriented, and come October 25, she is going to stand as the voice Ivoiriens must meet in compromise or must reject in shame. Note, his estranged husband was also the voice that provided alternative to the Ivoiriens in 1990 when Côte d’Ivoire seemed to be the guarded enclave of Felix Houphouet Boigny. He was also the person who made it impossible for Army General, Guei, to take over power, and finally he nearly made it impossible for Alasane Ouattara to assume power in 2010.
The die is cast and like Ivoiriens always say, The Elephant, their symbol, is a peaceful animal until you hurt it, and total destruction of the aggressor follows.
Ariole is Professor of French and Francophone Studies at University of Lagos
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