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78 year old Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, has been reelected for a controversial third time according to reports. He got 94.27% of the total vote cast in the first round of the Presidential elections, as declared by the county’s Independent Electoral Commission. The participation rate was recorded at 53.90%.
“Mr. Alassane Ouattara is therefore elected President of the Republic,” said Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, President of the CIS, after reading the scores.
The high score was due to the boycott of the ballot by the opposition who had promised to set up a rival “transitional” government because Ouattara’s mandate was over as he had broken the country’s two-term presidential limit.
The election was characterised by violence and unrest. “Pockets of unrest, vandalised voting material and closed polling stations were reported mostly in opposition strongholds during Saturday’s election,” AFP reports.
Ganiu Oloruntade
