Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara Wins Reelection with 89.77% of Vote

In a vote widely seen as flawed, Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara secured nearly 90 percent of the votes cast in the elections held on Saturday, winning 89.77 percent of the vote. The longtime president, first elected in 2010, will serve a fourth, five-year term as the leader of Ivory Coast, a West African nation of about 33 million people. The election was criticized for barring two main challengers, Tidjane Thiam and Laurent Gbagbo, from running against him.

Key Takeaways:

• President Alassane Ouattara secured 89.77 percent of the vote in the election, while the top two opposition candidates allowed to remain in the race received a combined total of just 6 percent.
• Two main challengers, Tidjane Thiam and Laurent Gbagbo, were barred from running against President Ouattara, leading critics to call the election flawed.
• The election was marred by accusations of President Ouattara manipulating election rules to keep rivals off the ballot and cracking down on dissent.
• Much of the economic gain in Ivory Coast over the past 10 years is credited to President Ouattara, who took power after a decade of civil war and a violent post-election uprising.
• Analysts said that despite improvements in living conditions in Ivory Coast, President Ouattara could soon face serious questions about his prolonged time in office amid the absence of a clear, viable successor.
• Ivory Coast has been spared the Gen Z protest movements spreading across Africa, but analysts warn that these movements could soon reach the country.

Statistics:

• 89.77 percent: The percentage of the vote won by President Alassane Ouattara.
• 6 percent: The combined total of the vote received by the two opposition candidates allowed to remain in the race.
• 33 million: The population of Ivory Coast, a West African nation.
• 10 years: The period during which Ivory Coast has seen significant infrastructure development and an economic boom.
• 2020: The year in which two main opponents boycotted the election, arguing that President Ouattara was running illegally after he changed the country's Constitution to enable him to run for a third term.
• 3,000: The estimated number of people killed in the 2010-2011 post-election conflict.

Sources:

• The New York Times, "President Alassane Ouattara Wins Reelection in Ivory Coast"
• Center for Strategic and International Studies