By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The main opposition leader in Côte d’Ivoire, who was barred from contesting in the October presidential poll, on Monday announced his resignation as leader of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), but vowed to continue leading the fight to win the election.
Tidjane Thiam, a former Credit Suisse CEO, had faced a legal battle to stand in the election after emerging as PDCI leader in 2023, with a court in the West African nation’s capital, Abidjan, last month removing him from the electoral register.
The court ruled that the 62-year-old politician had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987.
“In the interest of the party, I’ve decided to place my mandate as president of the party in your hands, the activists,” Thiam said in a speech published on social media on Monday.
Under the country’s constitution, holders of dual citizenship are not allowed to run for president.
Thiam, who was born in Côte d’Ivoire, had renounced his French citizenship in March to enable him to run for the top job.
But with nearly six months to the election, political tensions have escalated in the already fragile democracy, with several opposition figures disqualified via the judiciary.
Thiam, who has been away from Côte d’Ivoire for more than a month, also faces a legal challenge to his election as head of the PDCI.
The case was brought by a party member who also contested Thiam’s Ivorian nationality at the time of his emergence as party leader.
However, the former banker, now serving as the party’s deputy president, made it clear that stepping down did not mean withdrawing from the race for the presidency.
“This decision does not change the commitment I made in December 2023 to personally lead our party to victory in October 2025,” he said.
“I know that after electing me in 2023, you will give me your trust again,” he added.
Following Thiam’s resignation, PDCI deputy president Ernest N’Koumo Mobio assumed interim leadership of the party.
The 92-year-old appealed for “cohesion, serenity and discipline” and called a party meeting early Monday due to “the urgency linked to the political situation”.
President Alassane Ouattara, 83, who has been in power since 2011, has yet to announce whether he plans to run again, but has stated he is eager to “continue serving my country”.
