In a result which will raise eyebrows, the President of Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara, won over 90% of the vote in a disputed election held on Saturday.
In an election that was boycotted by the opposition Ouattara won 94.3% of the vote.
An opposition leader, Henri Konan Bédié, a former President, had called on his supporters to boycott the election, as had other opposition figures. Bédié also claimed that his home had been attacked on Saturday, during the election.
This will be Ouattara’s third term, after he said he would not seek another term. Although he was constitutionally barred he argued that a new constitution promulgated in 2016 had effectively ‘reset’ Presidential terms.
It was reported that at least 30 people had died in pre-election violence, with at least five people being killed on Saturday. The violence will have reminded Ivorians of two previous civil wars this century.
The Carter Center, a human rights NGO founded by former US President, Jimmy Carter, expressed serious concerns about the election and ‘civil liberties, freedom of expression, and the right to vote and be elected’.
The disputed Ivorian election has raised some concerns about democratic backsliding in the region. In Guinea earlier this year Alpha Conde was elected in another disputed election, while Mali suffered a military coup.
Although Ouattara has presided over a period of rapid economic growth his authoritarian turn will take the shine off his legacy to date.
Image by David Peterson from Pixabay