Results from Ivory Coast’s municipal and regional elections on September 2nd, 2023 are slowly coming in. Despite growing contestation in Yopougon, the ruling party maintains a substantial lead.
In Ivory Coast, the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) continues to announce results incrementally in the wake of the dual elections. Thus far, one trend seems to be crystallizing: a significant advantage for the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), the ruling party.
Indeed, the RHDP continues to secure victories. At the regional level, Prime Minister Patrick Achi has emerged victorious in the La Mé region. The Minister of Youth, Mamadou Touré, has secured victory in the Haut-Sassandra region. The current President of the Economic and Social Council, Eugène Aka Aouélé, has also triumphed in the South Comoé region. In the Tonkpi region, former minister Albert Toikeusse has claimed success.
At the municipal level, the list of municipalities won by the RHDP continues to grow, including Adzopé, Daloa, Vavoua, Abobo, and Yopougon.
However, there have been two notable setbacks. Senate President Jeannot Ahoussou suffered defeat in the Bélier region, and a candidate aligned with Guillaume Soro and running as an independent prevailed in the city of Ferkessédougou.
In Yopougon, Some Candidates Cry Foul Play
While these results remain partial, some candidates are already voicing their discontent and contesting the election outcomes. On the evening of September 3rd in Yopougon, two opposition candidates, who did not ally for this election, held a press conference to express their refusal to accept the results.
Michel Gbagbo and Augustin Dia-Houphouët have decried what they term an “electoral heist.” They claim to have observed “massive irregularities,” such as delayed openings of some polling stations and verbal threats against their supervisors. They also assert that voter cards were distributed to individuals to cast multiple votes at different polling stations.
On Sunday, the President of the CEI downplayed the extent of the observed irregularities on election day, stating that “these irregularities are not of a nature to undermine the integrity of the vote,” reassured Ibrahim Kuibiert Coulibaly.