Côte d'Ivoire's election was a troubling return to old conflicts and authoritarian ways

You can read the whole thing at the Washington Post's Monkey Cage (someone at WaPo decided to anglicize the country's name).

Here are a few excerpts:

The challenges of the Ivorian 2020 elections have their roots in conflicts that began 30 years ago, when Ouattara and Bédié were rivals to succeed Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the country’s first president. ...

The run-up to the 2020 presidential election appeared to promise further democratic progress, as continued economic prosperity laid the groundwork for stability. A new constitution adopted via a 2016 referendum removed the Ivoirité restriction and included a presidential two-term limit. In March, Ouattara made good on his promise not to seek a third term by designating Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly as the RHDP coalition’s presidential candidate. ...Bédié, after withdrawing his party from Ouattara’s coalition, announced his candidacy for president in June. When Gon Coulibaly died suddenly in July, Ouattara reconsidered his decision to retire. Ouattara argued that he now needed to run to ensure continued stability, while his opponents argued that a run by the two-time president would destabilize the country. ...

Thousands of opposition supporters protested Ouattara’s 2020 run and dozens were killed in conflicts between supporters and opponents of the president. Meanwhile, N’Guessan (FPI) and Bédié’s boycott of the election showed limited success; official turnout this year was 54 percent, similar to turnout in the 2015 election.


The 2020 Ivorian election follows a recent pattern of democratic backsliding in West Africa. Incumbents in Burkina Faso, Togo and Guinea exploited rule changes to subvert a two-term limit. Benin’s president disqualified political opponents with controversial court convictions. Burkina Faso protesters successfully forced their president to step down, but in most cases, incumbents remained in power. Ouattara is likely to survive in office, but the country has struck some potholes in the road toward democratic consolidation.

The article was the launching pad for a great discussion on term limits and executive succession rules in Africa, followed by a wonderful interview with Anne Meng about her new book, in the UfahamuAfrica podcast.