Abidjan, Ivory Coast – A call by Ivory Coast’s main opposition party for protests outside courts on Thursday over the barring of its candidate from this year’s presidential election drew only a few hundred supporters, an AFP journalist saw.
The government warned it would not permit any unrest and police blocked off access to the courts in Abidjan, the economic capital, and Bouake, the second largest city.
On Tuesday, the Abidjan court struck Tidjane Thiam off the electoral list — a decision that cannot be appealed and rules him out of standing in the October 25 vote.
The court said Thiam had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987.
His Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) called for nationwide protests.
In Abidjan, a march was planned in the morning from the party’s headquarters to the courthouse. But only around 200 supporters gathered at the offices before dispersing, an AFP journalist saw.
Maria Blanc, a 39-year-old who works in sales, said she was « very disappointed » the march had not taken place.
« Every time the party postpones actions, it delays the process of making Thiam the presidential candidate, » she said, speaking at the party’s offices.
No marches were reported in other parts of the country.
Six months before Ivory Coast goes to the polls to elect a new head of state, the call to rally marked a key test for Thiam, a 62-year-old international banker, who is currently in France.
« This weak mobilisation is the result of doubt and uncertainty within the PDCI, » Ousmane Zina, a political science professor at Bouake University, told AFP.
« There is still a long way to go. This is the beginning of a long political march » for him, Zina added.
Election periods are often tense in Ivory Coast, where post-election violence in 2010-2011 left around 3,000 dead.
But the last decade has seen the richest French-speaking country in sub-Saharan Africa and the world’s top cocoa producer revert to being a haven of stability in a region marked by coups and jihadist attacks.
– Mounting tensions –
As well as the court, police blocked off several streets around the PDCI’s offices in Abidjan, a city of six million people.
« There is no peace in Ivory Coast. There is a situation of tension. There is an anti-democratic situation. There is a denial of democracy, » Simon Doho, leader of the PDCI parliamentary party, said on Wednesday.
Demonstrations in Ivory Coast require authorisation from the police but this is often refused.
« Disorder will not be tolerated, » government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly said after a cabinet meeting.
« This is not a threat, » he added. « We can consider it a recommendation. »
Tensions began rising a few weeks ago when other political opposition figures were excluded from the presidential race.
They include former president Laurent Gbagbo, who was barred because of a criminal conviction.
But tension further mounted after the court’s decision closed the door on Thiam running for president.
Thiam told AFP in a telephone interview on Wednesday that his party would not put up another candidate for the election.
« It’s me or no-one, » he said, adding he intended to take his case to the court of the west African regional bloc, ECOWAS.
« We are going to continue to fight on the ground and to show those in power that this is a decision that is bad for Ivory Coast, » he said.
– Citizenship law –
The Abidjan court based its ruling on article 48 of the nationality code, dating from the 1960s, which states that acquiring another nationality means foregoing Ivorian citizenship.
Born in Ivory Coast, Thiam acquired French nationality in 1987 but gave it up in March to stand in the election.
His supporters have condemned the ruling as « political » and aimed at barring him from the election but the ruling party says it was not involved in the decision.
His legal woes may not be over, however. A court is due to rule on May 8 on another case linked to his nationality.
A party supporter has contested his legitimacy as PDCI leader.
The ruling party has yet to announce its presidential candidate.
President Alassane Ouattara, 83, in power since 2011, has said he is eager to « continue serving my country ».
© Agence France-Presse
