Ivory Coast: Way to the Second Round

The Constitutional Court has just validated the results of the first round of presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire.

The duel for the second round will oppose incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to the former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara. For the Constitutional Council, the Mass is said. “The minutes have showed no irregularity such as to damage the integrity of the election and affect the overall results”, Paul Yao N’Dre, President of the Constitutional Council, said. He declared that the second round is fixed to the 21 of November, according to the law, 15 days after the proclamation of final results. Just hours before this declaration, the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) coalition in which Alassane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bedié have sealed an election alliance, denounced the fraud and called for a recount of the nation’s October 31 election. It should also be noted that International observers said last week’s polls were credible and under conditions broadly acceptable despite some organisational short-comings. This second round will  oppose the incumbent president, who won, according to the Constitutional Council, 1 756 504 votes (38.04%) t, while former Prime Minister, Alassane Ouattara, got 1 481 091 votes, or (32.07%). The participation rate in the first round has reached 83.73%. The first round election was the Ivory Coast’s first presidential vote since a 2002 civil war, when Northern rebels took up arms, dividing the country for five years, until a power-sharing deal was signed in 2007. However new elections were repeatedly postponed because of failure to disarm rebels and disputes over voter registration. Many Ivoirians feared the 31 of October election could trigger new violence but none has been reported.

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