Abidjan (EFE).- At least 237 people were arrested in Abidjan on Saturday as police cracked down on protests during the first day of Ivory Coast’s presidential campaign, the Interior Ministry confirmed.
The election, set for Oct. 25, has been marred by the exclusion of the country’s two main opposition leaders.
From early morning, groups of demonstrators attempted to march through the streets of Abidjan, but police repeatedly blocked them, dispersing crowds with batons and tear gas, according to EFE reporters on the ground.
“Enough with a fourth term! We can’t take it anymore!” shouted a middle-aged man before being interrupted by officers, referring to President Alassane Ouattara’s controversial decision to seek another mandate.
The protest had been initially called by the Common Front, an alliance of opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) and the African Peoples’ Party of Ivory Coast (PPA-CI).
Although both parties officially canceled the demonstration after authorities banned it, calls to protest circulated widely on social media under the slogan “For democracy, justice, and peace.”
“We want to demonstrate peacefully. We are from the PDCI; our ideology is peace,” said an elderly woman before police again charged at the crowd.
Witnesses told EFE that officers detained dozens of people suspected of participating, even as protesters tried to blend in with bystanders.
Ouattara launches campaign amid tensions
While police confronted protesters in the capital, President Ouattara, 83, launched his campaign at a mass rally in Daloa, about 380 kilometers (approximately 236 miles) west of Abidjan.
“In recent years, Ivory Coast has made remarkable progress. Our nation enjoys peace and security,” Ouattara told thousands of supporters, promising new infrastructure projects, including a road linking Daloa and the capital, Yamoussoukro.
Ouattara, who has been in power since 2010, is running under his party, the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP).
He formalized his candidacy in July despite widespread criticism that a new bid violates constitutional term limits.
Opposition candidates barred from election
The Constitutional Council confirmed in September that only five candidates would appear on the ballot, excluding two key opposition figures: Tidjane Thiam, former CEO of Crédit Suisse and PDCI candidate, and former president Laurent Gbagbo (2000–2011), leader of the PPA-CI.
Thiam was barred in April when a court ruled he lost his Ivorian citizenship in 1987 after acquiring French nationality.
Although he renounced his French passport earlier this year, Ivorian law forbids dual nationals from running for president.
Gbagbo, meanwhile, remains disqualified due to prior convictions.
Ouattara is currently serving a disputed third term, with supporters arguing that the 2016 constitutional reform reset the term limit count. The opposition and civil society groups, however, say this maneuver undermines democracy. EFE
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