Ivory Coast’s final voter list omits opposition leader Thiam
In April, Thiam told Reuters he would continue his presidential campaign despite a court ruling that removed his name from the list, citing his French citizenship at the time he registered.
Tidjane Thiam, the opposition leader in Ivory Coast and former head of Credit Suisse, has been left off the country’s final roster of presidential candidates, making him ineligible to participate in the upcoming October election, according to a party representative on Wednesday.
In April, Thiam told Reuters he would continue his presidential campaign despite a court ruling that removed his name from the list, citing his French citizenship at the time he registered.
This move by the electoral commission could potentially reignite tensions in Ivory Coast, a nation that has only recently recovered from more than ten years of civil conflict in the early 2000s.
The conflict was partly driven by disagreements over nationality and who qualifies to run for office.
Thiam, 62, was elected leader of the PDCI the main opposition party in the world’s largest cocoa producer in December 2023.
In a statement to Reuters, Thiam described his removal from the electoral list by the Independent Electoral Commission as “a sad but clear sign of Ivory Coast’s departure from democratic principles.”
Simon Doho, president of the PDCI’s parliamentary group, vowed, “We will continue to fight for democracy and peace in our country.”
Other notable figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo and his close associate Charles Blé Goudé both previously acquitted of crimes against humanity linked to the civil war were also declared ineligible for the October election.
Former prime minister and rebel leader Guillaume Soro was also excluded. Soro was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment in 2021 for allegedly plotting a coup against his former ally, President Alassane Ouattara.
Ouattara, who is completing his third term, has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election. His ruling party, the RHDP, is set to choose its candidate on June 21 and 22.
Thiam’s lawyer, Mathias Chichportich, revealed that they filed a complaint on Tuesday with the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
“This complaint aims to pressure the Ivorian government to take all necessary steps to ensure the presidential election is conducted in a fair, inclusive, and democratic manner,” Chichportich stated.
