Vote counting is under way in Ivory Coast after a tense presidential election, with longtime incumbent Alassane Ouattara, 83, widely expected to win a fourth term in office.
Nearly nine million Ivorians were registered to vote on Saturday in a race featuring five contenders. However, key opposition figures were barred or disqualified, including former President Laurent Gbagbo, excluded over a criminal conviction, and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, disqualified for acquiring French citizenship.
Critics say these exclusions gave Ouattara a major advantage and left little room for competition. Opposition groups had called for a boycott, making voter turnout a critical factor.
Reporting from Abidjan, Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris noted that early apathy gave way to increased participation later in the day. “As the day wore on, we saw numbers picking up across the city,” he said.
None of Ouattara’s challengers represented established parties or had the reach of the ruling Rally of Houphouetistes for Democracy and Peace (RHDP). Among the candidates were agribusinessman Jean-Louis Billon, former First Lady Simone Gbagbo, civil engineer Ahoua Don Mello, and centrist politician Henriette Lagou Adjoua.
At polling stations in Abidjan, the atmosphere remained calm. “We need a candidate to emerge from these elections. It will lead us towards peace and tranquillity,” said Konate Adama, a voter in the city.
Under Ivory Coast’s constitution, a president may serve two terms. However, Ouattara argues that the 2016 constitutional reform reset his term limit — a claim that has angered opposition groups and sparked concerns of democratic backsliding.
About 44,000 security forces were deployed across the country amid fears of unrest, especially in opposition strongholds. Authorities imposed curfews in some regions, including Yamoussoukro, to prevent a repeat of the 2020 post-election violence, which killed at least 85 people, according to officials, and over 200, according to the opposition.
Results are expected early next week, and observers predict Ouattara will win outright in the first round.
The election is seen as a key test for stability in the world’s leading cocoa producer, where memories of the 2010 post-election conflict, which left 3,000 people dead, remain fresh.