The Ivorian Electoral Authority have announced the third-term re-election of President Alassane Ouatara amidst deadly unrest and opposition boycott.
The electoral commission president, Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, said in an early morning broadcast that Ouattara won 94 per cent of the vote, adding that the turnout was 53.9 per cent.
The landslide result had been anticipated after two leading opposition leaders, Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Henri Konan Bédié called for a boycott of the ballot and a civil disobedience campaign.
Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Henri Konan Bédié said it was illegal for President Alassane 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 did not count.
Mr. Ouattara subsequently announced that he would run for president after the ruling party’s previous presidential nominee, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, died of a heart attack in July this year.
Although the African Union observer mission said the election was “generally satisfactory”, a mission from the US watchdog Carter Center said “the overall context and process did not allow for a genuinely competitive election.
According to the mission, the process excluded a number of Ivorian political forces and was hampered by an active boycott.”
Pascal Affi N’Guessan told reporters on Monday Night that the opposition parties and groups will create a council of national transition.
He said “This council’s mission will be to create a transitional government within the next few hours, it would work to hold a fair, transparent and inclusive presidential election. Keeping Mr. Ouattara as head of state could lead to civil war,” he said.
The government has not made any comment in response to the opposition’s announcement.
N’Guessan said the transitional council would be led by opposition veteran Henri Konan Bedie, 86, a former president and long-term opponent of Allasane Ouattara.
