Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has been reelected to a fourth term, according to preliminary results released Monday, following an election characterized by low voter turnout and largely deserted streets in Abidjan, the nation’s economic hub.
Ouattara, 83, who has led the country since 2011, secured 89.7% of the vote, Electoral Commission chief Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly announced. Former commerce minister Jean-Louis Billon finished second with 3%, while former first lady Simone Gbagbo placed third with 2.4%.
Final results are expected in early November, though an earlier announcement remains possible. Of the 8.5 million registered voters, turnout was roughly 50%. Billon congratulated Ouattara on Sunday based on early projections, while Gbagbo accepted the outcome but criticized what she described as an “unfair and restricted electoral process” and a “divided opposition” that fostered fear and violence.
Ouattara rose to power after a disputed 2010 election against former President Laurent Gbagbo, a conflict that killed at least 3,000 people before Ouattara, backed by U.N. and French forces, assumed office. His supporters credit him with stabilizing and revitalizing the world’s top cocoa-producing economy, while critics accuse him of authoritarian tendencies and manipulating the constitution to stay in power.
Key opposition figures such as Tidjane Thiam and Laurent Gbagbo were barred from this year’s ballot, leading observers to describe the opposition as weakened and fragmented. “This was not a real election,” Thiam said on social media, calling for political dialogue to end the impasse.
Analyst Mucahid Durmaz of Verisk Maplecroft told the Associated Press that Ouattara’s dominance over state institutions and his central role in rebuilding the country after the civil war helped secure his continued rule.
Although Ivory Coast’s constitution originally imposed a two-term limit, a 2016 referendum revised it. Ouattara argued in 2020 that the changes reset his term count, allowing him to run again — a claim opponents rejected. His subsequent 2020 reelection, boycotted by rivals, saw him win over 90% of the vote.
Durmaz warned that Ouattara’s continued rule “reinforces constitutional manipulation and deepens democratic decline in West Africa.”
Ouattara’s victory adds to a pattern of elderly leaders maintaining power across Africa — including Cameroon’s Paul Biya (92), Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni (81), and Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (83) — despite the continent’s predominantly young population.
Under Ouattara, Ivory Coast’s economy has averaged 6% annual growth, fueled by cocoa exports, yet 37.5% of its 30 million citizens still live in poverty, and youth unemployment remains high. His government has also clashed with military regimes in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger over his perceived alignment with France, which those juntas blame for worsening insecurity in the Sahel region.
