Abidjan, Ivory Coast – Ivory Coast’s main opposition party nominated former minister and businessman Tidjane Thiam as its candidate on Thursday, ahead of an October presidential election.
The 62-year-old former Aviva and Credit Suisse executive was the only contender for the centre-right Democratic Party (PDCI).
Tensions in the wealthy west African country are running high six months from the scheduled polling date.
Thiam, who is currently outside of Ivory Coast, had to fend off a row over his nationality, with opponents saying his past French citizenship disqualified him from the race.
Three other prominent figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo, are barred from running.
Thiam obtained 99.5 percent of the votes at a party convention on Wednesday, with a participation rate of over 93 percent, according to provisional results.
Thousands of PDCI members voted across the country.
– Drops suit and tie –
Political scientist Geoffroy Kouao cautioned, however, that Thiam was not “well known to Ivorians,” having spent more than 20 years out of the country pursuing his business career.
Thiam became the first Ivorian to pass the entrance exam to Polytechnique, the prestigious French engineering school.
He later returned to Abidjan, where he began his political career and became minister of planning at 36.
But a coup ousted the PDCI from power the following year, in 1999, leading him to embark on a different career path in the private sector abroad.
He became a director in companies such as Aviva, Prudential and Credit Suisse in 2015.
Following his return to Ivorian politics, he assumed the leadership of the PDCI in December 2023.
“The PDCI will have to redouble its efforts in meeting people and communicating its policies,” political scientist Kouao said.
In political rallies, Thiam swapped his suit and tie for a green shirt, echoing the colour of his party.
He has dismissed concerns about his lack of connection with the country after two decades abroad, and has sought to turn his international experience into an asset, vowing to “govern differently”.
Born in Ivory Coast, he acquired French nationality in 1987, with his opponents arguing he forfeited his Ivorian citizenship when he became French.
Thiam said in March that he had given up his French citizenship to stand in the election.
The ruling RHDP party has indicated it will soon nominate President Alassane Ouattara, 83, for re-election to a fourth term.
© Agence France-Presse
