Ivory Coast’s political landscape is once again roiled as opposition leader and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam has been excluded from the country’s final list of presidential candidates for the upcoming October election. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) ruled Thiam ineligible due to his French nationality at the time of registration, a decision confirmed by a party official on Wednesday.
Thiam, 62, who was elected leader of the main opposition party PDCI in December 2023, has vowed to continue his presidential bid despite the commission’s ruling. Speaking to Reuters in April, he rejected calls to withdraw from the race, underscoring his determination to challenge what he describes as an undemocratic process. His lawyer, Mathias Chichportich, has filed a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, demanding the Ivorian government ensure the upcoming election is conducted fairly and inclusively.
The exclusion of Thiam is emblematic of broader political tensions in Ivory Coast, a nation still healing from the scars of a decade-long civil war in the early 2000s. That conflict was fueled in part by disputes over nationality and electoral rights, issues that remain deeply sensitive today.
In addition to Thiam, other prominent political figures have also been disqualified. Former president Laurent Gbagbo and his ally Charles Blé Goudé, both acquitted of crimes against humanity, were ruled ineligible to run. Former prime minister and rebel leader Guillaume Soro, sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment on charges of plotting a coup, is also barred from the election.
President Alassane Ouattara, who has already served three terms, has not yet announced whether he will seek re-election. The ruling RHDP party is scheduled to select its candidate in June, with the election expected to be a critical juncture for the nation.
Simon Doho, president of the PDCI parliamentary group, condemned the IEC’s decision as “a sad but telling example of Ivory Coast’s abandonment of democracy,” vowing to continue the fight for democratic governance and peace.
With key opposition figures sidelined, concerns are mounting about the inclusivity and fairness of the October polls, raising fears that Ivory Coast’s fragile political stability may once again be tested.
