Ivory Coast is set for a tense presidential election on October 25, with five candidates vying for power amid growing concerns over democracy and political exclusion. President Alassane Ouattara, 83, is seeking a fourth term after constitutional amendments in 2016 reset term limits — a move critics say undermines democratic credibility.
Ouattara, a former IMF economist, remains the frontrunner, buoyed by years of economic growth and major infrastructure projects. “We’re entering the 2025–2030 period with energy,” he told supporters in Daloa.
“Growth will continue, and we’ll deliver more infrastructure, production and better living conditions.”
However, several prominent opposition figures, including Laurent Gbagbo, Guillaume Soro, and Tidjane Thiam, have been barred from running, sparking protests and accusations that the election is a “coronation.”
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Thiam, disqualified for dual nationality, said the government had “abandoned democracy.”
Female candidates Simone Ehivet Gbagbo and Henriette Lagou Adjoua have stepped forward, calling for decentralization, education reform, and gender equality.
Businessman Jean-Louis Billon and Ahoua Don Mello, representing banned ex-president Gbagbo’s party, have also joined the race, though they are not expected to pose a major challenge.
Security remains a key issue as the government deploys 44,000 security personnel under Operation Hope and bans protests, a move condemned by rights groups as repressive. ECOWAS observers have been deployed to monitor the polls.
As the country prepares to vote, the election is seen as a critical test of Ivory Coast’s democratic resilience after years of growth but lingering political division.
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