Provisional results indicate that Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara has won a fourth term in office following an election where two prominent challengers were unable to participate.
The electoral commission announced on Monday that Ouattara, 83, garnered 89.8% of the vote, while businessman Jeal-Louis Billon secured a distant second place with 3.09%.
This decisive victory aligns with expectations, particularly after former President Laurent Gbagbo and ex-Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, both barred from the presidential race, encouraged their supporters to abstain from voting.
According to the electoral commission, voter turnout was 50.1%.
Simone Gbagbo, the former wife of Laurent Gbagbo, was permitted to contest the election and received 2.42% of the vote.
These results are provisional, pending review by the Constitutional Council, which will announce the final outcome after adjudicating any election-related petitions.
On Sunday, the opposition group, comprising the parties of Gbagbo and Thiam, condemned the election as a “civilian coup d’etat” and stated they would not recognize Ouattara’s legitimacy as an elected leader.
Ouattara initially became president in 2011, following the arrest of Laurent Gbagbo, who refused to concede defeat in the 2010 election.
While initially limited to two terms, a 2016 constitutional revision enabled Ouattara to pursue re-election in 2020, an election that was boycotted by the opposition.
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