Johnson Progress

Ivory Coast’s 83‑year‑old President Alassane Ouattara secured a fourth term on Monday, capturing 89.8 percent of the vote in an election that excluded his two strongest challengers, provisional results from the Independent Electoral Commission show.

The commission announced that Ouattara’s nearest competitor, former commerce minister Jean‑Louis Billon, received only 3.09 percent, while former first lady Simone Gbagbo, who was allowed to run, garnered 2.42 percent.

Voter turnout was a modest 50.1 percent.

The victory was widely expected after the electoral commission barred former president Laurent Gbagbo and ex‑Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam from the race Gbagbo because of a criminal conviction and Thiam for having acquired French citizenship.

Both men called on supporters to boycott the poll.

“The opposition group made up of Gbagbo and Thiam’s parties denounced the election as a ‘civilian coup d’etat,’ saying they would not recognise Ouattara as a validly elected leader,” the report notes, reflecting the charged atmosphere.

The results were read on state television by IEC president Ibrahime Coulibaly‑Kuibiert.

“Their absence, their calls not to participate in the election, and the climate of tension that deteriorated in recent days foretold a significant demobilisation of the electorate,” said William Assanvo, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, highlighting the low turnout and opposition discontent.

Ouattara, who first took office in 2011 after Laurent Gbagbo’s arrest following the 2010‑2011 conflict that killed about 3,000 people, has overseen relative stability and steady economic growth, especially in the world’s top cocoa producer.

A 2016 constitutional revision allowed him to run again in 2020, a vote also boycotted by the opposition.

The provisional figures will be reviewed by the Constitutional Council, which will rule on any election petitions before confirming the final outcome.

Critics argue the election underscored a divided country.

The pro‑Ouattara newspaper Patriote hailed the vote as “a calm election,” while the opposition daily Notre Voie described it as “an election reflecting a divided country.”

Thiam, in a statement, called the poll “not a real election,” lamenting a “climate of fear” and weak participation.

Analyst Geoffroy Kouao observed that the turnout “shows two things: first, Mr Ouattara’s supporters turned out in force… and second, supporters of the Gbagbo and Thiam parties did not go to the polls.”

The election was marked by security measures with 44,000 security forces were deployed, curfews imposed in some areas, and at least eight people were killed in pre‑election unrest.

Ouattara, an 83‑year‑old former IMF deputy managing director, said his fourth term will focus on continued economic growth and “passing the torch” to a new generation of leaders.

The final results are pending, but the 89.8 percent margin already cements his place as one of West Africa’s longest‑serving leaders.