Credit:  Sara Abraham  /  ©Diplomatic Times  /   “A Solidarity Côte d’Ivoire”  billboard in  Côte d’Ivoire commercial city Abidjan after President Alassane Ouattara wins bid for third term Nov. 3, 2020.

By Sara Abraham       DIPLOMATIC TIMES

ABIDJAN –  Côte d’Ivoire  –  Alassane Ouattara has won a third term in power as President of Ivory Coast after a controversial  election in the West African nation that was boycotted by the opposition.  President Ouattara, who broke a promise not to seek a third term, garnered 94 percent of the vote. The main opposition candidates boycotted the election and called on supporters to stay at home as an act of civil disobedience. Indeed, most streets in commercial city Abidjan were eerily empty and quiet today. 

Credit:  Sara Abraham  /  ©Diplomatic Times / Most streets in commercial city Abidjan were eerily empty and quiet today Nov. 3, 2020 as Alassane Ouattara  won a third term in power

It was an un-eventful  Saturday in Abidjan as Ivorians went  to the polls to vote in one of the most watched and anticipated presidential elections in Africa this year. Many Ivorians stayed at home boycotting the election. Tension was high as the government is reportedly deploying  some 35,000 security force members on election day to maintain peace. At least 20 people were killed in inter-communal clashes and in confrontations between security forces and supporters of opposition parties in several localities of Côte d’Ivoire in the run-up to the 31 October elections.  The U.N. human rights office called for an end to violence and intimidation as the elections proceeds in the West African nation.   Violence has escalated amid anger over President Alassane Ouattara’s decision to run for a third term many condemn as “illegal” and against the west African nation’s constitution.   President Ouattara shocked the country in August when he formally accepted the nomination of the ruling party to be its candidate in October’s election.  The main opposition candidates, Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Henri Konan Bédié,  declared it is illegal for Ouattara to stand for a third term and are called for a boycott.  The Ivorian constitution limits presidents to two terms. 

Credit:  Sara Abraham  /  ©Diplomatic Times /  Yopougon sectioni of Abidjan  Nov. 3, 2020 after Alassane Ouattara  won a third term in power

The mood among Ivorians is one of fatigue and a desire for peace and reconciliation now.  The former prime minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan, a leading opponent of Ouattara,  and Bédié, refused to recognize Ouattara’s electoral victory labeling  it a “sham” and vowed to form an alternative “transitional government”.  The move is certain to aggravate and deepen political tensions in Ivory Coast with many fearing the potential for violence.