Unsurprisingly, the Ivorian Constitutional Council on Monday 9 November confirmed the results of the IEC proclaiming the victory of Alassane Ouattara in the presidential election of 31 October in the first round.
The Constitutional Council has confirmed all the figures of the Ivorian Electoral Commission: Alassane Ouattara re-elected for a third term in the first round with 94.27% of the vote, against 1.99% for his opponent KKB; a turnout of 53.9%. The Constitutional Council did not receive any appeal during the period of litigation which ended Sunday.
It also validated the IEC’s choice to count only 17,000 of the 22,000 polling stations, i.e. those where the election could take place. Due to calls for civil disobedience and active boycott, the election could not be held in 5,000 polling stations. The IEC had therefore calculated voter turnout on the basis of 6 million registered voters instead of 7.5 million. The judges therefore validated this calculation, citing the “electoral practice confirmed by case law” referring to the 1995 presidential election “also affected by an active boycott”.
This Monday evening, after the decision of the Constitutional Council, Alassane Ouattara addressed the nation in a televised speech. In a speech of just over a quarter of an hour, Ouattara thanked his voters and congratulated his opponent KKB for his “republican attitude”. Then addressed the opposition, which opted for active boycott and civil disobedience. “Unfortunately, we deplore the incidents caused by the political opposition with sometimes dramatic consequences».
Promising justice to the victims and the rigour of the law to the perpetrators of violence, Alassane Ouattara invited Ivorians to “mutual forgiveness”. The Ivorian president also had a message to the opposition, which refuses to recognise him and has launched a “national transitional council”. Initiative that triggered a series of arrests in his ranks.
“I ask the political platform that has chosen to act outside the constitutional order to put a definitive end to this initiative. I would therefore like to invite my enemy, President Henri Konan Bédié, to a meeting in the coming days for a frank and sincere dialogue with a view to restoring confidence. I call on all our fellow citizens, in a bid to appease minds and hearts, to work to maintain and strengthen peace and live together.’’