Ouattara Wins Cote d’Ivoire Election by 94% Landslide amid Boycott

Cote d’Ivoire’s ‘s President Alassane Ouattara has won a controversial third term in office in an election boycotted by the opposition. He took 94% of the vote, even winning 99% in some of his strongholds.

Turnout was put at almost 54%. The result has to be confirmed by the Constitutional Council.

On Monday, the Ivorian opposition said it was creating a transitional government which would organise a new election.

Main opposition candidates Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Henri Konan Bédié had urged their supporters not to vote.

Opposition figures say it was illegal for Ouattara to stand for a third term as it broke rules on term limits. But the president’s supporters dispute this, citing a constitutional change in 2016 which they say means his first term effectively did not count.

At least 16 people have been killed since riots broke out in August after President Ouattara said he would run again following the sudden death of his preferred successor.

At least nine people were killed during Saturday’s vote, news agency AFP reports.

The election was marred by intimidation, violence and electoral malpractice, an advocacy group said of findings by independent election group Indigo Côte d’Ivoire.

“An election is the moment when a society comes together to experience and live out democracy, but the context that prevailed on election day… shows that a large segment of the Ivorian population did not experience this election in peace,” PTI Advocacy Group said in a statement.

It added that a significant number of voters were disfranchised because polling stations did not open, adding that even those people who were able to vote did so “in a context of fear and anxiety”.

It said that 23% of polling stations had not opened at all due to threats or attacks, and that in 5% of polling stations, observers reported threats or intimidation of election officials.

Several polling stations were ransacked in opposition strongholds on Saturday and election materials were burned.

In the eastern town of Daoukro, protesters erected roadblocks. Meanwhile tear gas was used to push away demonstrators who gathered close to where the president cast his ballot in the main city, Abidjan.

Opposition leader N’Guessan told reporters on Sunday ahead of the results that say they considered Ouattara’s mandate to be over:

“[We] note the end of President Alassane Ouattara’s mandate on 31 October and call on the international community to take note,” he added, saying a civil transition was needed to “create the conditions for a fair, transparent and inclusive election.”

The electoral commission head called the disturbances on Saturday “minimal”, saying they “only affected 50 polling stations out of 22,381”.

Some 35,000 security officers were deployed across the country to transport election materials and ensure safety, the security minister said.

After voting in Abidjan on Saturday, Ouattara called for an end to the protests.

“I call on those who called for civil disobedience, which led to the loss of life, to stop,” he said.

“They should stop because Ivory Coast needs peace, these are criminal acts and we hope that all this can stop, so that after the election this country may continue on its course of progress, which it has enjoyed over the last few years.”

From BBC

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