The constitutional court in Côte d'Ivoire has definitively barred two top opposition leaders, ex-president Laurent Gbagbo and former banker Tidjane Thiam, from standing in the presidential election on the grounds they have been removed from the electoral roll.
The Constitutional Council, tasked with drawing up the final list of candidates, retained five bids to contest the 25 October ballot, including current President Alassane Ouattara, who is seeking a fourth mandate.
The bids of Tidjane Thiam and Laurent Gbagbo were rejected.
"The Constitutional Council has consistently required voter eligibility as a condition of eligibility," Constitutional Council President Chantal Nanaba Camara said, declaring the two men's candidacies "inadmissible".
Five candidates, two women
Alassane Ouattara, 83, in power since 2011, will face four candidates: former ministers Jean-Louis Billon; Ahoua Don Mello; former first lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo; and Henriette Lagou, who was a candidate in 2015.
Billon is a dissident from Thiam's Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI), while Ahoua Don Mello is a former member of Gbagbo's African Peoples' Party - Côte d'Ivoire (PPA-CI).
Both politicians were recently disavowed by their parties, which removed them from office.
Lack of choice
At this point, there is no further recourse for either Gbagbo or Thiam.
This means that the two main opposition parties, the PDCI and the PPA-CI, find themselves without a candidate for the 25 October presidential election.
"Ivorians hoped the council would defend their fundamental right to choose their president through the ballot box. Instead, they find themselves facing a veritable plebiscite organised by the incumbent president, for an unconstitutional fourth term," Thiam said in a statement sent to news agencies.
He added that the election next month risked becoming a "coronation" for Ouattara.
Ouattara confirms fourth term run as Ivorian opposition cries foul
The political climate has been tense in Côte d'Ivoire for several weeks. The opposition, which expected the exclusion of its leaders, denounces a less than inclusive election and opposes Ouattara's fourth term, which it considers unconstitutional.
According to a recent report published by the International Crisis Group (ICG), President Ouattara's controversial bid for a fourth term, the exclusion of key opponents and a non-consensual electoral framework are raising fears about the smooth running of the vote.
Since 1995, no presidential election has resulted in a peaceful change of power, the report points out.
(with AFP)
