Alassane Ouattara - The African Mirror

Nov

2020

After Ivory Coast election, fighting comes to a once-calm town

ANGE ABOA BEFORE last month's presidential election, M'Batto in central Ivory Coast was a small, peaceful town where ethnic groups intermarried and churches and mosques existed side by side without friction, residents say. Two weeks on and the streets are littered with empty shotgun cartridges, shops have been burned down and at least six people are dead, killed in ethnic clashes that some fear could herald a repeat of Ivory Coast's civil wars in 2002 and 2010-2011. The October 31 election, which was boycotted by the opposition, opened up old wounds around the question of identity in Ivory Coast between…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Election-linked clashes have killed 85 in Ivory Coast, government says

NEWS

EIGHTY-five people have been killed in violence linked to Ivory Coast's disputed October 31 election, the government said before a meeting between President Alassane Ouattara and a key opposition leader aimed at calming tensions. The new death toll doubles a previous estimate of those killed in clashes between rival political supporters before and after the vote, which handed Ouattara a third term that his opponents say is illegal. Government spokesman Sidi Toure blamed the bloodshed on the opposition, which called on its supporters to boycott the election and launched civil disobedience campaigns in recent weeks. "These protests were designed to…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast’s Ouattara wins third term, final results show

NEWS

IVORY Coast President Alassane Ouattara won a third term with 94.27% of the vote, after an election that opposition parties largely boycotted and dismissed as illegal, final results have shown. Main opposition figures are facing criminal charges after denouncing the October 31 vote and creating a rival government in protest. Opposition groups say Ouattara violated the constitution, which limits presidents to two terms. Ouattara says the approval of a new constitution in 2016 allows him to restart his mandate. Clashes in the run-up to the vote and on election day killed around 35 people, officials said, raising concerns about the…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast opposition leader arrested for creating rival government

NEWS

IVORY Coast opposition leader and former prime minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan has been arrested for creating a rival government after President Alassane Ouattara's election victory, his wife and a spokeswoman said. Ivorian prosecutors are pursuing terrorism charges against more than a dozen opposition leaders who boycotted the October 31 vote in which Ouattara won a third term in office and announced they were creating a transitional council. The standoff has raised fears of protracted instability in the world's top cocoa producer, whose disputed 2010 presidential election led to a brief civil war. More than 40 people have died in clashes…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Election violence hits Ivory Coast cocoa port arrivals

BUSINESS

ANGE ABOA COCOA arrivals at ports in Ivory Coast fell this week because of a violent political standoff following a disputed presidential election in the world's top growing nation, exporters have said. The political crisis in the West African nation escalated this week after several opposition leaders who called for a boycott of the October 31 presidential election, rejected President Alassane Ouattara's victory and formed a parallel government. The government moved swiftly and placed them under effective house arrest, while a former rebel leader has called for the army to mutiny and join the opposition. Exporters said the cocoa sector,…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast and Guinea election crises spur fears of prolonged unrest

NEWS

EDWARD McALLISTER IVORY Coast opposition leaders refused to disband their breakaway government on Wednesday despite being put under effective house arrest following a disputed presidential election. The country and its neighbour Guinea are experiencing parallel post-election crises after their presidents both decided to run for a controversial third term in office, prompting fears of prolonged instability. The moves could spook investors and undermine democracy in a reigon where Islamist groups exploit discord to win recruits, experts say. The opposition in Ivory Coast boycotted Saturday's election and announced a rival administration after President Alassane Ouattara was declared the landslide winner. On…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast police surround opposition leaders’ houses

NEWS

ANGE ABOA POLICE in Ivory Coast surrounded the houses of two of President Alassane Ouattara's main rivals on Tuesday after the government accused them of sedition for creating a parallel administration in defiance of Ouattara's landslide win in Saturday's election. It was not immediately clear if anyone had been arrested. But the moves deepened a bitter standoff over the president's bid for a third term that has cost more than 35 lives since August, including at least five during election day on Saturday. Outside the residence of former president Henri Konan Bedie in the commercial capital Abidjan, officers rolled tear…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast president on track for election win, opposition cry foul

NEWS

AARON ROSS IVORY COAST President Alassane Ouattara edged closer to claiming a landslide election victory, partial tallies showed, though opponents said his bid for a third term was illegal and the results were skewed by an opposition boycott. The president has been named winner of all constituencies announced so far, most with more than 90 per cent of the vote, after a bitter presidential vote marred by deadly violence. Two major opposition candidates on the ballot had asked their supporters not to take part in Saturday's election, in protest at Ouattara's decision to run. Their parties said whole swathes of…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast’s Ouattara takes early lead in election

NEWS

AARON ROSS and ANGE ABOA IVORY Coast President Alassane Ouattara has taken a strong early lead as he seeks a third term in an election that has been marked by deadly violence, winning all 20 of the voting districts that were announced by the electoral commission. Ouattara, 78, won at least 99% of the vote in eight of the districts announced from Saturday's vote, most of which are ruling party strongholds. There are 108 districts in total, more of which are expected to be announced soon. The president has been expected to win re-election after his opponents called for a…

Nov

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast votes for president in test of post-war stability

NEWS

AARON ROSS, ANGE ABOA and LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY VOTING has started in Ivory Coast as President Alassane Ouattara seeks a third term in an election two rival candidates have urged their supporters to boycott. Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara. Picture: Flickr Former president Henri Konan Bedie Pascal Affi N'Guessan - Ivory Coast - Photo: Wikimedia Commons The streets of the commercial capital Abidjan were quiet and largely empty in contrast to the sometimes violent run-up to the election, which is seen as a test of stability in Ivory Coast, the world's top cocoa producer and one of Africa's fastest-growing economies. In…