Ivory Coast’s Independent Electoral Commission on Monday announced President Alassane Ouattara has been re-elected for a controversial third term with a staggering 94.27% of the votes in the first round of election that was marked by an opposition boycott and violent clashes, reported Africa News.
“Thus elected president of the republic, Alassane Ouattara,” Kuibiert-Coulibaly Ibrahime, the head of the electoral commission announced.
He said the final turnout for the Oct. 31 election was at 53.90%. The country’s constitutional council will now validate the voting results and then declare the final winner after hearing any challenges or complaints of irregularities.
Notably, Ivory Coast’s constitution limits presidents to two terms, but President Ouattara claimed that the approval of a new constitution in 2016 allowed him to restart his mandate. The opposition called it an “electoral coup” and Ouattara’s illegal bid to hold onto power.
Although the 78-year-old had initially agreed to hand over the reins to a new generation in the election, he was forced to contest again after his handpicked successor died unexpectedly in July.
About 30 people were killed in the pre-election violence, leading to fears of the 2010 vote which resulted in a civil war that killed over 3,000 deaths. At least five more were killed on the election day itself, officials said.
On Sunday, the opposition leaders called for a “civilian transition” from President Ouattara’s government after initial results showed the incumbent taking a strong lead.
“The Ivorian opposition political parties do not recognize the election of October 31st, 2020. They note the end of president Ouattara’s mandate as of October 31st, 2020, and call on the international community to duly record it,” said FPI’s Pascal Affi N’guessan.
In a joint statement, N’guessan and Henri Konan Bedie confirmed they rejected the October 31st vote and said that the opposition no longer recognized Ouattara as the country’s president.
