Thousands of demonstrators gathered on Saturday in Abidjan, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire, demanding the reinstatement of opposition figure Tidjane Thiam on the presidential electoral roll.
Thiam, the former CEO of Credit Suisse, has been barred from contesting in the presidential election scheduled for October. On 4 June, the electoral commission excluded him and three other prominent opposition figures from the final list of candidates. Earlier this year, a court ruled Thiam ineligible to run due to his dual Ivorian-French citizenship a decision he has pledged to challenge. Although born in Côte d’Ivoire, Thiam acquired French citizenship in 1987, which he officially renounced in March.
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Protesters, dressed in green and white the colours of Thiam’s Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) held placards backing the opposition leader, with chants such as “Corrupt justice” and “Thithi president” echoing through the streets.
Senior PDCI officials were granted access to the electoral commission headquarters, where they delivered a letter demanding the reinstatement of all excluded candidates.
Following the meeting, PDCI Executive Secretary Sylvestre Emmou declared: “We strongly denounce the arbitrary and unjust removal of President Thiam and other key opposition leaders from the electoral list.”
Tensions have been rising in the West African country amid growing public dissent over the disqualification of opposition candidates. The unrest comes ahead of the ruling party’s congress later this month, where President Alassane Ouattara is widely expected to announce his intention to run in the 25 October election.
Ouattara has been in office since 2011 and is currently serving his third term.
