Ivory Coast’s upcoming presidential election took a dramatic turn on Monday after the Constitutional Council ruled two prominent opposition candidates ineligible to run in the October 25th vote.
Former President Laurent Gbagbo and ex-Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam both high-profile challengers to incumbent President Alassane Ouattara were officially barred from the race due to their removal from the electoral roll.
Thiam, who leads the PDCI, the country’s largest opposition party, was excluded over nationality-related legal issues stemming from his acquisition of French citizenship. Gbagbo, head of the African Peoples’ Party, Ivory Coast, was disqualified due to a prior criminal conviction.
Despite submitting their candidacies, both men will now be absent from the ballot, leaving five contenders in the race. Among them are former First Lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo and former ministers Jean-Louis Billon, Ahoua Don Mello, and Henriette Lagou.
President Ouattara, now 83, is seeking a fourth term in office. The revised candidate list reshapes the political landscape just weeks before Ivorians head to the polls.
