In Côte d’Ivoire, at least four people died Wednesday and Thursday in violence linked to the controversial candidacy for a third term of President Alassane Ouattara.
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The opposition and members of civil society called for demonstrations on Thursday after the authorities had banned all gatherings for failure to respect “proper procedures”.
In Bonoua (South-East), stronghold of ex-first lady Simone Gbagbo, an 18-year-old was killed during clashes with the police, Jean-Paul Améthier told AFP. Town’s mayor.
“The Bonoua police station was ransacked by angry demonstrators,” said Hervé Niamkey, a resident. The situation was tense Thursday evening in this city crossed by the international route which connects Abidjan to Ghana.
Violence left three dead on Wednesday during violence in Daoukro, stronghold of former President Henri Konan Bédié also a presidential candidate, between his supporters and young people favorable to President Ouattara.
“Calm is slowly returning, but we deplore three deaths,” said a security source, on condition of anonymity. Witnesses also reported three deaths.
“We have started talks with the population to restore calm” announced the mayor of the city, Aubin Djè Koffi.
– “ADO, get out!” –
Other clashes took place Thursday between demonstrators and the police, especially in the economic capital Abidjan. These demonstrations brought together several hundred people.
“We are demonstrating for the departure of President Ouattara, because his candidacy violates the Constitution. We do not want to accept a third term”, explained Hervé Séka, in the district of Anono.
In the popular district of Yopougon, clashes between police and demonstrators paralyzed traffic.
In Port-Bouet, a district overlooking the sea and housing the port and the airport of Abidjan, dozens of demonstrators blocked the main road, some holding up signs “ADO clear!” in reference to the initials of President Alassane Dramane Ouattara.
In the upscale Cocody neighborhood, where many senior officials reside and most embassies are located, riot forces had been deployed in large numbers. The police arrested a group of women singing Abidjanaise (the national anthem).
The situation remained volatile in the rest of the country. Incidents in particular took place in San Pedro, the country’s second port (southwest).
In the Adzopé region (near Abidjan), women dressed in white as a traditional sign of anger invaded the main road.
– “We are all afraid” –
Trees were cut down to paralyze the Abengourou-Agnibilekro road in the east.
Thursday in Ferkessédougou (north), stronghold of Guillaume Soro, former ally of Ouattara who went into opposition and now in exile in France, the weekly market emptied after rumors of a protest march.
“Today we are all afraid”, testified Mourlaye Koné, employee of a sugar company.
“It is not over. As long as Guillaume Soro has not returned to the country we will continue,” promised a supporter of the former leader of the rebellion, targeted by several legal proceedings but who still aspires to be a candidate in the presidential election.
President Alassane Ouattara, 78, was elected in 2010 against the outgoing head of state, Laurent Gbagbo. The latter had refused to recognize his defeat, plunging the country into crisis until his arrest by the forces of his rival, supported by French and UN forces.
Alassane Ouattara was re-elected in 2015, then announced in March to pass the baton to his Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly for the October election. But he died on July 8 of a heart attack. After this death, Alassane 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 a third unconstitutional application.
Former President Henri Konan Bédié denounced the candidacy of Mr. Ouattara, his former ally, as “illegal”. Aged 86, he is himself the nominated candidate of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), the main opposition formation).
The situation becomes more and more tense with the approach of the election of October 31, ten years after the crisis born of the presidential election of 2010, which had made 3,000 deaths and saw Alassane Ouattara come to power.
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