The discussions during national dialogue will be led by Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko who is inviting President Alassane Ouattara’s opponents for talks. The re-election of the latter on 31 October to a third term is still contested by his opponents. This dialogue is to take place as the executive secretary of the PDCI Maurice Kakou Guikahué has just been evacuated to France for health reasons. His condition has deteriorated while he was still imprisoned in the Abidjan prison.
“His condition has deteriorated.”This is what the PDCI communication states to explain the emergency transfer to Paris on the night of Saturday to Sunday of Maurice Kakou Guikahué. The number 2 of the political party was part of the wave of arrests on 3 November in the ranks of the opposition. Accused of undermining state authority, he was detained at the MACA, the central prison in Abidjan, until his hospitalization on 11 December in the cardiology department of Treichville University Hospital.
This medical transfer comes as Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko opens this morning the ball of discussions with opposition parties and civil society, in preparation for the legislative elections scheduled for the first quarter of next year. These meetings follow the first contact more than a month ago between the head of state Alassane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bédié, who is still contesting the president’s re-election to a third term in October.
About ten days ago, the head of the PDCI announced the end of this face-to-face dialogue, demanding that all opponents should participate. By inviting all parties and civil society, the Prime Minister is responding favorably to this request. However, the participation of the historical party in these debates is not yet guaranteed, as the government has not yet followed up on its other conditions, namely the release of political prisoners and the presence of an international body, such as the UN, to oversee the dialogue.