Ivory Coast presidential election: “Nothing is decided yet!”

Campaign posters of Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié in Abidjan. Photo sent by Nasser Eddy.

On October 31, Ivory Coast will hold its first presidential election in over 10 years. After being put off seven times in a row, the election campaign was officially launched on October 15, peppering every town and city with posters and advertss. Our Observer in Abidjan describes the atmosphere in a country where previous attempts to hold elections have ended in violence.

Ivory Coast has been paralysed by a deep political crisis since a 2002-2003 civil war fuelled by disputes over land and nationality split the West African country in two. Current president Laurent Gbagbo has been in power for over 10 years, and has not faced elections for the past five. In February 2010, he dissolved the government and electoral commission in a fresh attempt to block planned elections, sparking fears of renewed violence in the country. If the October 31 elections go ahead unhindered, Ivory Coast may finally begin to turn the page of political instability.

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Posters of Bédié (left) and Gbagbo (right) in Abidjan. Sent by Nasser Eddy.

Support messages to outgoing president Laurent Gbagbo on an Abidjan shop front. Photo sent by Nasser Eddy.

Campaign poster for Alassane Ouattara. Photo sent by Matié Kone.

Posters of Gbagbo and Bedie in Abidjan. Photo sent by Nasser Eddy.

“The game is on - we’ll know how it ends on the 31st!”

Nasser Eddy is a Lebanese-born citizen of Ivory Coast. He lives in Abidjan.

The atmosphere here is surprisingly calm for a country that is a week away from key elections. Except during rallies, citizens aren’t really demonstrating that much enthusiasm for the vote. All people want is for the 31^st to be over and done with, to put an end to the masquerade of election dates being set and postponed, then set again. Personally, I think this time is for real. The issue of “grey lists” [electoral registers including non-Ivory Coast citizens added to favour opposition voters] has been settled, and now there is a final list that has been accepted by all candidates. Also, the government has reached agreements with most rebel groups, which have accepted to disarm and allow the elections to go forward peacefully. State police are deployed across the country, and the situation is under control. The role of the future president will be to make these peaceful agreements hold.

There are 14 candidates running in the upcoming elections. In reality, however, the race is between the top three candidates: Laurent Gbagbo, Alassane Dramane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bédié. All three of them have been major political figures over the past 20 years, whereas the others are relative newcomers. Gbagbo, the outgoing president, has a strong following in the west of the country. Bédié, a former president, is very popular in the east and the centre, and Ouattara, a former prime minister, in the north. The race promises to be very tight. Gbagbo is currently leading the polls, but public opinion is divided and nothing is decided yet.

State media openly favoured Laurent Gbagbo before the campaign officially kicked off on the 15^th. The national television channel, RTI, as well as all state radios, had a clearly partisan stance. However, since the start of the campaign, the national audiovisual and communications council (CNCA) has made sure that all candidates get equal speaking time on all media. The game is on - we’ll know how it ends on the 31^st!”