#Ivory Coast : Pulcherie Gbalet, a civil society official in Côte d’Ivoire, who had called for demonstrations against a third term of President Alassane Ouattara, was charged and imprisoned at the Abidjan Detention and Correction House (Maca ), his lawyer announced Thursday.
Arrested on Saturday, Pulcherie Gbalet, president of Alternative Citizen Ivorian (ACI), a civil society organization close to the opposition, was “charged with inciting revolt, calling for an insurrection, disturbing public order, violence and assault, “Maitre Lambert Kouamé Béné, his lawyer, told AFP.
The activist was placed “under a committal warrant and imprisoned in Maca,” he said.
His indictment coincides with the decision of the Ivorian authorities to “suspend” public demonstrations in Côte d’Ivoire until September 15, two days before a march by opposition women against a third term of President Alassane. Ouattara.
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At the call of the opposition and civil society including ACI, a week ago, demonstrations linked to the announcement of the candidacy of Mr. Ouattara, banned by the authorities, degenerated into violence for three days, causing “six dead, a hundred wounded, 1,500 internally displaced persons, 69 people arrested as well as numerous material damage”, according to the official report communicated Wednesday.
President Alassane Ouattara, 78, elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2015, first announced in March to hand over to his Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.
But after his death from a heart attack on July 8, Ouattara announced on August 6 that he would finally run for a third term.
The Constitution limits presidential terms to two, but opposition and power disagree on the interpretation of the reform adopted in 2016: Ouattara’s supporters claim that she has reset the term counter to zero, her opponents deem unconstitutional a third application.
The first round of the presidential election in Côte d’Ivoire has been officially set for October 31.
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