There is tension in Cote D’Ivoire, one of Africa’s major French-speaking countries, where another commotion in the making once again, some 10 years after quenching a major political crisis that claimed the tenure of former President, Laurent Gbabo.
The renewed tension is coming out of fears that the country is headed the same way through what appears to be sure victory for Alassane Ouattara, who has refused to leave power after the constitutionally allowed two tenure, but had to amend the constitution to run for a third term.
Reports say, at least 30 persons have already died as a result of the protests and clashes with security forces in the days preceding the presidential which eventually held on Saturday, in which Ouattara, is billed to win since the major opposition parties boycotted it.
Reports from Punch, said scattered protests, clashes, vandalised voting material and some closed polling stations were reported mostly in opposition strongholds during Saturday’s election although Ouattara had called for calm and his party was expecting a win.
The scenario appeared the same in 2011, when Gbabo was chased out from power by French-backed Ivorian forces, and eventually ferried to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, following the death of about 3,000 people in the crisis.
Ouattara, who was the beneficiary of that effort, after being declared the winner of the election, appears intent on travelling the same route in power, of combination of At least 30 died, when he announce in August that he would be running for a third term of five years, after spending 10 years already.
Opposition leader Henri Konan Bedie, an old Ouattara adversary, had called for an active boycott and a campaign of civil disobedience to halt or disrupt the election.
“October 31 was not the deluge as the leaders of the opposition forecast,” Adama Bictogo, a senior ruling party official, said after the election.
“The popular will was expressed and all the opposition did for months was defend the idea of not holding elections.”
Electoral officials have up to five days to release the results and it was not clear when the CEI election commission planned an announcement.
Source Whirlwindnews.com
