ASSESSMENTS

In Ivory Coast, an Impending Election Portends Instability

Dec 19, 2019 | 10:00 GMT

The scene at a meeting of Ivorian opposition parties on Sept. 14, 2019, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

(SIA KAMBOU/AFP via Getty Images)

Highlights

Political risk for Ivory Coast and its foreign investors will increase as presidential candidates seek to exploit deep fissures in Ivorian society for political gain.
Despite previously promising to step down, President Alassane Ouattara will likely run again if his two biggest rivals from recent years also seek the presidency in October 2020.
Sahel-based militants will seek to exploit any instability, as Ivory Coast's close relations with Western powers France and the United States and its large population of French expatriates and Western tourists make it a prime target.

When Ivorians go to the polls in October 2020, they won't just be electing a new president, they'll also be testing the country's political stability. During the last decade, Ivory Coast has enjoyed rapid economic growth, averaging 8 percent of gross domestic product per year, following deadly and destabilizing post-electoral violence in 2010. Yet while the growth has been impressive, political reconciliation has lagged. As political forces in the country's three main regions gear up for battle next year, the question of whether Ivory Coast can prevent its political ghosts from returning to haunt the country -- and opening the door for Sahel-based militants to make more inroads in the process -- will be paramount for both the nation's stability and foreign investors....

Keep Reading

Proceed to sign up

Already have an account?