Abidjan: Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has won a fourth term in office, according to results released by the country’s electoral commission (CEI) on Monday, after an election on the weekend. The 83-year-old secured 89.8% of the vote on Saturday, with turnout at roughly 50.1%, the commission said. The provisional results will now be reviewed by the Constitutional Council, which has five days to announce the final outcome.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Ivorian Human Rights Commission reported six deaths linked to the election. Voter turnout was particularly low in western provinces, strongholds of prominent opposition figures Tidjane Thiam and Laurent Gbagbo, both of whom were barred from running, prompting boycott calls. Ouattara is accused of authoritarian tactics by opposition parties and civil society. Protests against the exclusion of Thiam and Gbagbo in early October led to hundreds of activists being arrested, and reports of several unexplained kidnappings.
Since taking office in 2011, Ouattara has overseen a return of Ivory Coast as a regional economic driver, and a partner for Europe and the United States. The country, home to about 33 million people, is the world’s largest cocoa producer and West Africa’s second-largest economy after Nigeria. Ivory Coast is also playing an increasingly important role in combating Islamist militant groups in the Sahel region.