Berlin: Cote dIvoire, also known as Ivory Coast, held a legislative election on Saturday, following President Alassane Ouattara's reelection with his RHDP party two months earlier. The 83-year-old Ouattara secured a continuation of his 14-year tenure in a contentious October election, which was criticized for allegedly suppressing opposition through arrests and election prohibitions.
According to Deutsche Welle, the election period was marked by tensions, with protests demanding more transparent presidential elections resulting in a severe police response. This crackdown resulted in eleven fatalities and the imprisonment of numerous opposition supporters. Despite the opposition's call for a boycott, polling stations opened late due to heavy rains in Abidjan, yet voters still lined up to cast their ballots.
The election is largely viewed as a competition between the ruling RHDP and the significant opposition party PDCI-RDA, with expectations that RHDP will retain its majority in the 255-seat legislature. The opposition party PPA-CI abstained from voting after former President Laurent Gbagbo was excluded from the October presidential race. Many opposition supporters, like 21-year-old student Assi Gilles Darus Aka, expressed feelings of disenfranchisement, voicing concerns over inadequate representation in the national assembly.