IVORY COAST-ELECTION/PREVIEW Ivory Coast prepares to vote in a poll many say will test country's stability

Record ID: 135329

  • Title: IVORY COAST-ELECTION/PREVIEW Ivory Coast prepares to vote in a poll many say will test country's stability
  • Date: 23rd October 2015
  • Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF COCOA STORAGE WAREHOUSE TRUCK CARRYING SACKS OF COCOA BEANS VARIOUS OF PILE OF COCOA BEANS
  • Embargoed: 7th November 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Netherlands
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVADZTQ7EAS2FBQG365175I4P3LD
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS MATERIAL THAT WAS ORIGINALLY 4:3
    Election campaigns are in full swing in Ivory Coast ahead of Sunday's (October 25) much awaited presidential elections.
    Incumbent Alsassane Ouattara, often credited for the country's economic renaissance, is heavily favoured to win a second term.
    However, voter apathy and opposition criticism of the country's electoral commission, which the opposition says favours Ouattara, threaten to undermine the vote.
    Many Ivorians and Ouattara's election opponents have accused him of seeking to use Ivory Coast's impressive growth figures to paper over what they say are failures in the realms of post-war reconciliation and justice.
    "There are no stakes. There are expectations in this election. We will participate in this election, all the dices have been played, and that's a problem, but that's life," said Herve Lole, an Abidjan resident.
    Having implemented a policy of heavy investment in infrastructure during his first term, Ouattara, a former senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official, has been largely credited for Ivory Coast's rapid post-war economic revival.
    Economic growth has averaged around 9 percent over the past three years, according to government figures. The president said that an influx of new investment would push that figure into double digits from next year. The IMF has issued a more conservative average forecast of 8.4 percent for 2015 and 2016.
    Ouattara's critics say little of the wealth created by the country's current economic boom has trickled down to the most vulnerable.
    Many in the West African nation also complain that they have been left behind, and the president's critics warn that economic exclusion is undermining efforts to close the book on the years of unrest.
    On the streets of the economic capital Abidjan, opinions are mixed on Ouattara's performance in the last five years.
    But with memories of the 2011 post election violence that killed over 3000 people still fresh, many say they want a peaceful election and for the country to move forward.
    "I want the election to take place in a calm atmosphere so that we can go back to normal, to a calm life. No fighting, no crisis like in 2011, just peace after the elections. Each person will vote for the president that they want and life can go on," said Abigael Podiogo, a student.
    "I want our leaders to put in action what they promised the people, especially when it comes to youth employment. They need to make sure that young people can get work because we cannot go to the next elections if young people are still unemployed," said Abidjan resident, Jean Marie Amessan.
    "For the next five years, I want a new Ivory Coast, an Ivory Coast where the north and the south are united , and be able to come together for reconciliation throughout the country," added another Abidjan resident, Naolo Bouduin.
    Despite critics suggesting that ethnic and political divisions remain deeply entrenched in Ivory Coast, some analysts say the effects of conflict in the last election have made many Ivorians weary.
    "Everything we experienced in 2011 is still fresh in our hearts. I don't think that Ivorians want to relive those moments. It's true that there is bitterness and resentment, and there are still many problems to solve and scars, but I think at the right moment, good sense will prevail and all these things that people say may happen will not happen," said Jean Claude Coulibaly, a political analyst.
    If he wins re-election this weekend, as expected, Ouattara will have to move quickly.
    While a June opinion poll by the Washington-based International Republican Institute found that two-thirds of Ivorians thought the country was heading in the right direction, just 31 percent believed the economy improved in the past year.
    Highlighting people's expectations, nearly two-thirds expect their personal economic situation to improve in the coming year, the survey said.
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