Ivory Coast’s electoral commission on Wednesday assured conducting a fair election in the country as the ruling RHDP party has urged President Alassane Ouattara to stand again, reported Reuters. Ouattara’s opposition claims he does not have the right to a third term under the constitution as he has been in power for the last ten years.
The election commission’s role is the upcoming election is very sensitive as a dispute over Ouattara’s poll victory in 2010 sparked the post-election conflict. The election sparked a civil war fought largely along regional and ethnic lines that killed about 3,000 people. This time all the major opposition parties have raised concern about the independence of local election offices, which they say favour Ouattara.
In an interview with Reuters, Ibrahime Coulibaly Kuibert, president of the national election commission said the election body plans to reform these offices and consult all parties in the run-up to the vote.
“Our primary objective is to make our process credible and transparent,” he said.
President Ouattara had previously announced turning over the leadership reigns to a new generation. But the sudden death of his preferred successor and Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly earlier this month changed the political scenario leaving the ruling RHDP party scrambling to choose a replacement candidate. While the party has urged Ouattara to seek re-election, he has decided to withhold his decision on seeking a third term.
His opposition parties say the two-term limit in the constitution bars him from standing again, but Ouattara has said his first two mandates do not count under the new constitution adopted in 2016.
Henri Konan Bedie, who was president from 1993-1999 and leads one of Ivory Coast’s largest parties, the PDCI, is the other main confirmed candidate in the October election.
Ouattara is expected to announce his decision on running again during a planned speech to the nation on August 6.
