As many as 237 people were arrested Saturday in Ivory Coast’s economic hub of Abidjan during a banned protest called by the opposition to reject upcoming presidential elections where incumbent Alassane Ouattara is seeking a fourth term.
Interior Minister Vagondo Diomande, who was visiting police command posts to assess the security situation in the city, told state-run RTI that those arrested include women and youths.
“Young people were sent out onto the streets to erect barricades. Fortunately, the vast majority of young people understood that this was not the right course of action. Across the country, everything is calm,” the state official said.
Two districts of the city were epicenters of the protest called by former President Laurent Gbagbo and former Credit Suisse Group AG chief executive officer Tidjane Thiam — both of whom have been barred from running in the Oct. 25 election.
The Constitutional Council, Ivory Coast’s top electoral body, shortlisted five candidates in September, including the 83-year-old Ouattara, to be a candidate for president. Gbagbo, Thiam and several other political leaders rejected the court decision and branded Ouattara’s bid illegal and unconstitutional.
Ouattara, in power since 2011, reset the constitution in 2016 in a move that allowed him to win a third term in 2020 after serving what was supposed to be his second and last five-year term in 2015. The protest took place a day after candidates embarked on a campaign that is set to last through Oct. 23.
- Bloomberg
