Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has won a fourth term in office after a sweeping victory in the presidential election, according to provisional results released on Monday.
The result, widely expected after his main rivals were disqualified, reinforces Ouattara’s dominance in Ivorian politics.
The 83-year-old former international banker won 89.77% of the vote, his third consecutive decisive victory since his first, closely contested election in 2011.
That election sparked a deadly conflict after the vote when then-president Laurent Gbagbo refused to admit defeat, triggering a four-month civil war that claimed some 3,000 lives. Since then, Ouattara has presided over years of relative peace and steady economic growth in the world’s leading cocoa producer.
Former Trade Minister Jean-Louis Billon, who conceded defeat to Ouattara on Sunday, came second with 3.09% of the vote, while former first lady Simone Gbagbo won 2.42%, according to results announced on state television by Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, president of the electoral commission.
Simone Gbagbo called Ouattara on Monday to congratulate him on his victory, a source told Reuters.
Electoral participation was around 50%, similar to the levels recorded in the 2010 and 2015 elections, but significantly lower than the 80% in the first round of 2010.
Senior figures, including Laurent Gbagbo and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, were banned from participating in this year’s election. With no strong opposition parties contending, Ouattara’s victory was considered inevitable.
“There was no point in voting. Everything was set for Ouattara to win these elections. Candidates Thiam and Laurent Gbagbo were eliminated. There was nothing at stake,” said Arsene Kanga, a machinist at a cooking oil production company in Abidjan.
Since the 2010 conflict, voter apathy has deepened, according to Rinaldo Dipagne, deputy director of the International Crisis Group’s Africa program.
“People saw that they had no future in politics, or they couldn’t imagine that politics would bring positive changes to the country,” he said.
The Constitutional Council is expected to confirm the results in the coming days.
Ouattara, former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has pledged to sustain economic growth and attract private investment during his fourth term. He also promised to pave the way for a new generation of political leaders, although a clear successor has yet to emerge amid divisions within the ruling party.
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Analysts warn that if Ouattara does not name a successor, the country could face instability similar to the crisis that followed the death of founding president Felix Houphouet-Boigny, which was marked by political tensions and armed conflict.
The elections took place largely peacefully on Saturday, despite earlier unrest in cities such as Yamoussoukro, where authorities imposed a curfew on Friday night.
The government deployed 44,000 security officers and enforced what Amnesty International described as an excessive ban on protests. Hundreds of protesters were arrested and the Interior Ministry said dozens were sentenced to up to three years in prison for crimes including disorderly conduct.
Government spokesman Patrick Achi, a former prime minister, told Reuters last week that the administration remained committed to protecting freedom of expression while maintaining public order.
(Reuters)
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