Early polls see Ivory Coast's ruling party leading in elections

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Sep 2023 22:39
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The RHDP ruling party leads in 25 of the 40 communes in Saturday's vote.

Agents of the Independent Electoral Commission count ballot papers for the municipal and regional elections in the Plateau business commune of Plateaux business district of Abidjan, on September 2, 2023 (AFP)

Electoral commission data in Ivory Coast showed that the country's ruling party, RHDP, was leading polls in early Sunday results, following local and regional elections.

In an early assessment, the RHDP led in 25 of the 40 communes in Saturday's vote.

Nasseneba Toure, Minister of Women, Family and Children, was one of the key government figures re-elected in Odienne, in the northwest.

The polls revealed that nine of the 40 communes resulted in wins for independent candidates, with four more showing victories for the opposition.

In numerous regions, two major opposition parties had joined forces to challenge the RHDP, which had taken control of 18 of the 31 regions five years ago.

The elections were the first since former president Laurent Gbagbo returned to Ivory Coast in June 2021 after being acquitted by the International Criminal Court on human rights charges linked to post-electoral violence in 2011.

Gbagbo was not able to vote on Saturday, however, after being struck from the electoral roll due to a conviction in Ivory Coast linked to the 2011 crisis.

The former president considers his removal "a political maneuver" but that has not stopped his party from taking part in Saturday's voting.

Ahead of announcing early results on national television, electoral commission spokesperson Emile Ebrottie indicated that "the elections went off calmly."

The monitoring group Aube Nouvelle reported some sporadic quarrels but noted that the election went ahead without a hitch – a dramatic contrast to three years ago when contentious presidential elections won by Alassane Ouattara sparked unrest that resulted in 85 deaths.

However, some candidates reported anomalies, especially in Abidjan's largest and most important district, Yopougon - a traditional Gbagbo stronghold.

The candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (PDCI), Augustin Dia Houphouet, stated that there had been "huge irregularities which had besmirched the sincerity of the electoral test."