83-year-old Ouattara re-elected as Ivory Coast president for fourth term
The electoral commission in Côte d’Ivoire has declared President Alassane Ouattara the winner of Saturday’s presidential election, securing his fourth term in office.
Announcing the election results on state television on Monday, the commission’s president, Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly, said Mr Ouattara scored a landslide victory by securing 89.77 per cent of the votes cast.
According to Mr Coulibaly, the election recorded a 50.10 per cent voter turnout, out of which entrepreneur and former commerce minister Jean-Louis Billon got 3.09 per cent of the votes to come second, while former first lady Simone Gbagbo amassed 2.42 per cent to finish third.
However, two of Mr Ouattara’s main rivals were barred from participating in the exercise. While former president Laurent Gbagbo was banned due to a criminal conviction, Credit Suisse ex-CEO Tidjane Thiam was disqualified for holding French nationality.
Although the opposition has questioned the legitimacy of the 83-year-old’s victory and demanded that a new election be held, the results are expected to be validated by the Constitutional Council in the coming days.
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