Low turnout said to have made for most peaceful election in years, as 83-year-old accused of clampdown on dissent wins 89.77% of vote
Alassane Ouattara has been declared the winner of the presidential election in Ivory Coast by a landslide.
According to provisional results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (CIE) on Monday evening, the 83-year-old won a fourth term as head of the west African country with 89.77% or 3.75m votes.
Continue reading...Alassane Ouattara has outstayed his welcome. His attempt to cling on for a third term could make parts of the country ungovernable
This month the president of Ivory Coast caused outrage which spilled into bloodshed on the streets of the capital, Abidjan, when he announced he would seek a third term in office after all.
Tensions are running high in the country after months of violence surrounding the disputed presidential election in 2010. Just five months ago, the 78-year-old Alassane Ouattara had announced his retirement, pledging to “transfer power to a new generation”.
So why is Ouattara now so afraid to relinquish power? Why did he not proudly allow Ivory Coast’s first-ever peaceful transfer of power to take place, which could have been his greatest legacy, nine years after a bloody civil war?