Tensions mount as Alassane Ouattara seeks fourth term in Ivory Coast vote

"This is worth several more terms, the Ivorian president, Alassane Ouattara, joked while opening a bridge named after him in the country's commercial capital, Abidjan, in 2023. The appearance in recent years of several new bridges in west Africa's second most populous city has been hailed by the president's supporters as symbolic of an era of modernity and stable leadership under his watch."

"On a Saturday earlier this month more than 200 protesters were teargassed and arrested across Abidjan, including in neighbourhoods within a mile of the bridge opened by Ouattara two years earlier. It was the latest in a series of demonstrations by young people against Ouattara's decision to run for a fourth term in the presidential election taking place on 25 October. All protests have now been banned by the government."

"These elections can be won without bloodshed, said the main opposition candidate, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo. Gbagbo, Ivory Coast's first lady from 2000 to 2011 when she was married to the former president Laurent Gbagbo, was once known to her supporters as the Hillary Clinton of the tropics. Others gave her the nickname the iron lady due to her tough reputation. The right solution is not to march or boycott, she said. The right solution is to vote."

President Alassane Ouattara opened a bridge in Abidjan in 2023 and supporters point to new bridges as symbols of modernity and stable leadership. Infrastructure projects have accelerated nationwide and the economy has grown since Ouattara took office in 2011, which his camp says signals the end of decades of violent crises. Recent months saw mass protests in Abidjan against Ouattara's bid for a fourth presidential term, with more than 200 protesters teargassed and arrested. The government has banned protests and opposition leaders alleged security forces ransacked homes without warrants. Main opposition candidate Simone Ehivet Gbagbo urged citizens to vote rather than march or boycott, while older citizens noted a sense of deja vu tied to historical parallels.

Read at www.theguardian.com