Ivory Coast Presidential Election : Time For Maneuvers

Ten years after the highly disputed presidential elections in Ivory Coast, speculations are rife as to what would be the outcome of the October 2020 Presidential elections. Several years after the advent of multiparty politics, the country has registered more than 100 political parties. Amongst them are four heavy weight political blocs that are highly implanted nationwide. The Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), formed by Laurent Gbagbo but now headed by Affi N`Guessan, the Democratic Party (PDCI) of Henri Konan Bedie, the RHDP headed by Alassane Ouattara and the Ivorian Workers’ Party (PIT) under the command of Francis Wodie.

With less than two months to the deadline for the deposition of candidature (August 31, 2020), only three parties have made their intentions known. Pascal Affi N’Guessan for the FPI and 84-year-old Henri Konan Bedie as flag bearer for the PDCI. Laurent Gbagbo’s faction “Gbagbo ou Rien” is still to make an official statement, while the ruling coalition, Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) is in dilemma following the death of Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, candidate of the party. His passing away has left members of his party in shock especially President Alassane Ouattara. After taking everyone by surprise on 5 March by announcing he would not be candidate for the 2020 presidential election, ex- pressing the wish “to hand over power to a new generation`, and designating Gon Coulibaly as presidential candidate for the RHDP a week later, the Ivorian leader is now weighing the pros and cons of a new contender. Who will he choose? To attempt an answer to this question, the Ivorian leader and members of the ruling coalition have the following options; Organized an extraordinary congress of the party during which nominations and elections will be carried out. The second option is “Hand Picking” of a candidate among the numerous senior members of party and the third most ad- vocated option now is a back- pedal by the incumbent President Alassane Ouattara. On paper, he is in theory allowed to run for a third term based on the new constitution adopted in 2016, but his rivals might dispute this right, reminding him that he was elected in 2010 and 2015, and has thus already served two terms. What’s more, is the fact that, it would give the impression of not being a serious leader and not also wil- ling to foster the rise of a new generation within the party. Furthermore, it would be as if the only collaborator he trusted was Gon Coulibaly. Even though before he named Mr Gon as successor, there ...