Ivory Coast: Presidential Elections in 2025 – Ouattara Promises “Peaceful, Transparent, and Democratic” Polls
Ivory Coast, entering a new electoral cycle in 2025, will hold its presidential elections in October. Current President Alassane Ouattara has promised a “peaceful, transparent, and democratic” election process.
“2025 will be marked by the presidential election. This election will once again provide an opportunity to confirm the political maturity of our people, the strength of our institutions, and the deepening of our democracy,” Ouattara said.
In his New Year’s message, delivered just before the start of 2025, the president reassured all citizens and partners that the upcoming election would be conducted in a peaceful, transparent, and democratic manner.
For Ouattara, these elections should help the Ivorian people “consolidate the gains made since 2011 and continue the country’s march toward development, in peace, unity, and discipline.”
On August 9, 2024, ten political parties and two Ivorian civil society organizations signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly promote transparent, inclusive, and credible elections in Ivory Coast.
For these opposition parties and civil society groups, “the current electoral system is one of the major sources of sociological conflicts that have led to severe crises in Ivory Coast since 2010.”
“This system cannot, in its current form, guarantee peaceful elections in our country,” stated Simone Ehivet, president of the MGC, lamenting that “the government has so far remained deaf to the numerous calls from opposition parties and civil society organizations.”
“We are calling on the government to engage in genuine dialogue, a truly inclusive dialogue with political parties, civil society organizations, and all the country’s active forces,” urged the former First Lady, Simone Ehivet.
This political dialogue should focus on reaching necessary and consensual electoral reforms, as well as addressing legal and constitutional issues, to ensure an inclusive election in 2025.
Asked by his party, the RHDP, whether he would run for a new presidential term in 2025, Alassane Ouattara has yet to comment on the matter. Former President Laurent Gbagbo, nominated as a candidate by the PPA-CI, remains ineligible due to his conviction.
