Latest news with #RallyofHouphouetistsforDemocracyandPeace
France 24
a day ago
- Politics
- France 24
I. Coast president Ouattara tapped to run for fourth term
Ouattara himself has not yet confirmed whether or not he will run for a fourth term as president of the west African country. But delegates accepted his candidacy after Patrick Achi, head of the congress of the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), proposed him in the president's absence. His nomination comes after weeks of rising political tensions triggered by the courts' barring of several opposition politicians from the October 25 election. Ouattara's critics, who accuse the US-trained economist of creeping authoritarianism, fiercely oppose his possible candidacy. Ivory Coast's two main opposition parties on Thursday announced a "common front" to demand that their leaders, banned from October presidential polls, be allowed to stand. It brings together the African People's Party -- Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) of former president Laurent Gbagbo and former international banker Tidjane Thiam's Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), the country's largest opposition force. Gbagbo, whose contesting of the 2010 vote which saw Ouattara elected triggered violence which killed 3,000 people, is among the politicians the courts have struck off the list of candidates for president. 'Continue the adventure' Whether Ouattara will run again is the question on everyone's lips in the west African nation. Ouattara, who will turn 84 in January, has maintained the suspense for months. A comment made in January that he was "eager to continue serving" the country has so far been the only clue he is considering a fourth term. Ouattara is on Sunday due to address a major meeting at the Ebimpe stadium, where Ivory Coast's footballers won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024. His supporters see the head of state, who made a career as an economist for the International Monetary Fund before turning to politics, as a beacon of stability. They loudly cheered his nomination on Saturday, chanting his nickname "Ado" after his initials. "He has to accept and listen to the cries of his children who are calling on him to continue the adventure," said Honore Adom, who came to the congress from the eastern Indenie-Djuablin region. "He has so pleased us that he must finish the works that he has begun," Lassana Kone, who travelled from Gbeke in central Ivory Coast, told AFP. 'Envy of many' Before the thousands gathered at the congress in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's economic capital, the RHDP's leadership hailed Ouattara's stewardship of the country. On his watch Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, has seen seven-percent economic growth nearly every year. "Ivory Coast has made major advances on the economic, social and cultural fronts, with sustained growth that has made us the envy of many," said Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Kone. Equipment minister Amedee Koffi Kouakou said Ouattara had made the country "a haven of peace" in an often restive region. Yet the president's critics have pointed to the striking-off of his potential opponents from running in the upcoming vote as evidence of Ouattara's increasing abuses of power. Besides ex-president Gbagbo, the courts have also prevented his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and ex-prime minister Guillaume Soro from taking part in the race on legal grounds. The PDCI's Thiam, who has been outside Ivory Coast since the middle of March, is barred for issues of nationality. The authorities have insisted that the decisions were taken by the independent courts, denying any political intervention in the electoral processes. © 2025 AFP
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
I. Coast President Ouattara Tapped To Run For Fourth Term
Ivory Coast leader Alassane Ouattara's party on Saturday tapped him to run for president again, two days after the country's two main opposition parties joined forces to fight his possible candidacy. Ouattara himself has not yet confirmed whether or not he will run for a fourth term as president of the west African country. But delegates accepted his candidacy after Patrick Achi, head of the congress of the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), proposed him in the president's absence. His nomination comes after weeks of rising political tensions triggered by the courts' barring of several opposition politicians from the October 25 election. Ouattara's critics, who accuse the US-trained economist of creeping authoritarianism, fiercely oppose his possible candidacy. Ivory Coast's two main opposition parties on Thursday announced a "common front" to demand that their leaders, banned from October presidential polls, be allowed to stand. It brings together the African People's Party -- Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) of former president Laurent Gbagbo and former international banker Tidjane Thiam's Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), the country's largest opposition force. Gbagbo, whose contesting of the 2010 vote which saw Ouattara elected triggered violence which killed 3,000 people, is among the politicians the courts have struck off the list of candidates for president. Whether Ouattara will run again is the question on everyone's lips in the west African nation. Ouattara, who will turn 84 in January, has maintained the suspense for months. A comment made in January that he was "eager to continue serving" the country has so far been the only clue he is considering a fourth term. Ouattara is on Sunday due to address a major meeting at the Ebimpe stadium, where Ivory Coast's footballers won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2024. His supporters see the head of state, who made a career as an economist for the International Monetary Fund before turning to politics, as a beacon of stability. They loudly cheered his nomination on Saturday, chanting his nickname "Ado" after his initials. "He has to accept and listen to the cries of his children who are calling on him to continue the adventure," said Honore Adom, who came to the congress from the eastern Indenie-Djuablin region. "He has so pleased us that he must finish the works that he has begun," Lassana Kone, who travelled from Gbeke in central Ivory Coast, told AFP. Before the thousands gathered at the congress in Abidjan, Ivory Coast's economic capital, the RHDP's leadership hailed Ouattara's stewardship of the country. On his watch Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer, has seen seven-percent economic growth nearly every year. "Ivory Coast has made major advances on the economic, social and cultural fronts, with sustained growth that has made us the envy of many," said Vice President Tiemoko Meyliet Kone. Equipment minister Amedee Koffi Kouakou said Ouattara had made the country "a haven of peace" in an often restive region. Yet the president's critics have pointed to the striking-off of his potential opponents from running in the upcoming vote as evidence of Ouattara's increasing abuses of power. Besides ex-president Gbagbo, the courts have also prevented his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and ex-prime minister Guillaume Soro from taking part in the race on legal grounds. The PDCI's Thiam, who has been outside Ivory Coast since the middle of March, is barred for issues of nationality. The authorities have insisted that the decisions were taken by the independent courts, denying any political intervention in the electoral processes. Ouattara's supporters see him as a beacon of stability AFP Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara has not yet confirmed whether will run for a fourth term AFP
Int'l Business Times
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
I.Coast Opposition Leader Thiam Barred From Presidential Election
An Ivory Coast court on Tuesday struck main opposition leader Tidjane Thiam off the nation's electoral list, closing the door on him running in a presidential election in October. The court said Thiam, who became head of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) this month, was removed from the electoral list because he had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987. Thiam, a former international banker, called the ruling "an act of democratic vandalism". Tensions in the west African country are running high six months from the election. Three other prominent figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo, are also barred from running. The court president ruled that "Thiam had lost his Ivorian nationality when he acquired French nationality and therefore granted the petitioners' requests and ordered Thiam's removal from the electoral list," said his lawyer, Ange Rodrigue Dadje. Thiam's lawyers said the case was "political" and aimed to bar him from the election. The decision is not subject to appeal. Questions over Thiam's nationality have plagued his campaign for months. Born in Ivory Coast, he acquired French nationality in 1987 but gave it up in March to stand in the election, as candidates cannot have dual nationality. Opponents took action based on article 48 of the country's nationality code, dating from the 1960s, which states that the acquisition of another nationality means Ivorian citizenship is lost. "It was my duty as a citizen to uphold the law and I think this is what the court has just decided," said Bernard N'zi Kokora, who filed the suit. The rule does not apply to dual nationals by birth. Thiam's lawyers provided the courts with documents showing that their client was also French by birth, through his father, but this had no effect on the ruling. For several weeks, Thiam's entourage has denounced the "manoeuvres" they say are orchestrated by the government to keep the main opposition party out of the presidential race. "Make no mistake about it, this decision is an act of democratic vandalism, which will disenfranchise millions of voters," Thiam said in a statement. "This decision clearly shows that we were in a political trial," said Simon Doho, leader of PDCI lawmakers. "We have left the realm of justice and are entering the realm of politics." "When justice is in their favour, it is independent and when it isn't, it is manipulated", Mamadou Toure, spokesperson for the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party, told AFP. "We have nothing to do with this case and we have no comments to make on court decisions," Toure added. The PDCI had officially nominated Thiam as its candidate on Thursday. "October 2025 is still a long way away but I know I won't be spared," Thiam said at the time. Other presidential candidates have also been removed from the race, including Gbagbo, the president from 2000 until his arrest in 2011, his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and exiled former prime minister and rebel leader Guillaume Soro, all based on judicial rulings. The RHDP has not officially named a candidate but it has called for 83-year-old Alassane Ouattara, in power since 2011, to run for a fourth term. The party will hold a congress in June. The court ruling against Tidjane Thiam came less than 10 days after the Ivory Coast Democratic Party named the ex-banker as its leader AFP
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
I.Coast opposition leader Thiam barred from presidential election
An Ivory Coast court on Tuesday struck main opposition leader Tidjane Thiam off the nation's electoral list, closing the door on him running in a presidential election in October. The court said Thiam, who became head of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) this month, was removed from the electoral list because he had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987. Thiam, a former international banker, called the ruling "an act of democratic vandalism". Tensions in the west African country are running high six months from the election. Three other prominent figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo, are also barred from running. The court president ruled that "Thiam had lost his Ivorian nationality when he acquired French nationality and therefore granted the petitioners' requests and ordered Thiam's removal from the electoral list," said his lawyer, Ange Rodrigue Dadje. Thiam's lawyers said the case was "political" and aimed to bar him from the election. The decision is not subject to appeal. Questions over Thiam's nationality have plagued his campaign for months. Born in Ivory Coast, he acquired French nationality in 1987 but gave it up in March to stand in the election, as candidates cannot have dual nationality. Opponents took action based on article 48 of the country's nationality code, dating from the 1960s, which states that the acquisition of another nationality means Ivorian citizenship is lost. "It was my duty as a citizen to uphold the law and I think this is what the court has just decided," said Bernard N'zi Kokora, who filed the suit. The rule does not apply to dual nationals by birth. Thiam's lawyers provided the courts with documents showing that their client was also French by birth, through his father, but this had no effect on the ruling. - A 'political trial' - For several weeks, Thiam's entourage has denounced the "manoeuvres" they say are orchestrated by the government to keep the main opposition party out of the presidential race. "Make no mistake about it, this decision is an act of democratic vandalism, which will disenfranchise millions of voters," Thiam said in a statement. "This decision clearly shows that we were in a political trial," said Simon Doho, leader of PDCI lawmakers. "We have left the realm of justice and are entering the realm of politics." "When justice is in their favour, it is independent and when it isn't, it is manipulated", Mamadou Toure, spokesperson for the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party, told AFP. "We have nothing to do with this case and we have no comments to make on court decisions," Toure added. The PDCI had officially nominated Thiam as its candidate on Thursday. "October 2025 is still a long way away but I know I won't be spared," Thiam said at the time. Other presidential candidates have also been removed from the race, including Gbagbo, the president from 2000 until his arrest in 2011, his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and exiled former prime minister and rebel leader Guillaume Soro, all based on judicial rulings. The RHDP has not officially named a candidate but it has called for 83-year-old Alassane Ouattara, in power since 2011, to run for a fourth term. The party will hold a congress in June. bam-pid/djt/tw
