Ivory Coast: Main Opposition Party Mobilizes, Calls for National Uprising

Edition : Africa Eye

 Ivory Coast’s main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), mobilized thousands of supporters on Saturday in Abidjan, urging a “national uprising” against what it described as “injustice, tyranny, and fear,” following the exclusion of its presidential candidate Tidjane Thiam from October’s election.

It was the largest gathering since Thiam was removed from the electoral roll by a court ruling on April 22, which determined he had lost his Ivorian nationality at the time of his registration in 2022. Other key opposition figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo (2000–2011), were also barred from running due to prior convictions.

President Alassane Ouattara,in power since 2011, has yet to announce whether he will seek re-election, though he has expressed his “desire to continue serving his country.”

“To all Ivorians, I make a heartfelt call for a national awakening,” said Noël Akossi Bendjo, PDCI vice president, speaking on behalf of Thiam, currently in France. “Let us arm ourselves with courage and determination to push back against this blatant injustice, this tyranny, this fear. Are you afraid now? Rid yourselves of fear. It is your fear that allows them to keep crushing us,” he declared.

A youth rally is scheduled Sunday at the party’s headquarters in Cocody, with a major meeting planned for Thursday in Plateau, the political and business hub of Abidjan.