Since 2002 political debate in the Ivory Coast has been common place among every day discussions and now finally, eight years later, Ivorians are seeing the first concrete signs of the long awaited presidential elections now planned for the 31 October. After being postponed numerous times, the promised ID cards have at last been handed out and last night the first candidate’s posters began to fill the city of Abidjan.
The main three front runners who today declared their election candidacy are the current President Laurent Gbagbo, former President Henri Konan Bedié and former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara. The first round of polls show Gbagbo to be in the lead, with Bedié and Ouattara a close 2nd and 3rd.
The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced that he welcomes the start of the election campaigning and has called on political parties to campaign peacefully. “The holding of open, free, fair and transparent elections will represent a major milestone towards the peaceful resolution of the conflict”.
By Sara Atteby
Despite the long-awaited announcement of an election date for 31 October, key issues remain unresolved. And while a younger generation Read more
