President Alassane Ouattara won a third term in Côte d’Ivoire’s Oct. 31 election, with 94 percent of the vote. Was this a free and fair election? Some outside analysts suggest that it was not, raising memories of the country’s authoritarian past.
Opposition candidates Henri Konan Bédié and Pascal Affi N’Guessan had called on supporters to boycott the vote, complaining Ouatarra’s candidacy violated the presidential two-term limit. After the vote, police fired tear gas in front of Bédié’s home and arrested his top aides and N’Guessan for calling for new elections and announcing the creation of a parallel government.
The challenges of the Ivoirian 2020 elections have their roots in conflicts that began 30 years ago, when Ouattara and Bédié were rivals to succeed Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the country’s first president.… Seguir leyendo »
