The political parties are getting ready for the legislative elections scheduled for 6 March. Two months after boycotting the presidential election, the coalition of opposition parties, which includes the FPI, the PDCI and many political parties and groups, has announced that it will participate in the elections this time.
The opposition will go to the legislative elections “in close ranks”. The news had already been circulating for several days and raised many questions among opposition activists who wondered about the posture of an opposition that boycotts in October but participates in March. Things were made official this Thursday by one of the leaders of the coalition speaking on behalf of all parties, Georges Armand Ouegnin, of the EDS platform:
“Our coalition will go in close ranks, with a common strategy to block the RHDP project which aims to confiscate all powers and subjugate our people.’’
“Not to leave all the power in the hands of the RHDP”, “to show that the RHDP is a minority in the country”, the opposition has no shortage of arguments to push its activists to go to the polls after the active boycott in October. More prosaically, the opposition also does not want to deprive itself of the subsidies provided by parliamentary seats.
The coalition will endorse one candidate per constituency, promises one of its leaders, Gnamien Konan: “There will not be officially a candidate of the opposition coalition against another candidate. There will be only one candidate per seat on behalf of the opposition. We won’t fight each other, we’ll be together, we’ll all be behind the candidate who will be chosen, whoever he is.’’
The discussions are expected to be vigorous internally between now and 20 January, in twelve days’ time, the deadline for applications.