Ivory Coast’s presidential race heats up with a major shakeup as opposition leader Tidjane Thiam has been excluded from the October ballot.
Thiam, a former Credit Suisse CEO and leader of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, was removed alongside three other prominent opposition figures.
The electoral commission announced on Wednesday that it would comply with court rulings barring these candidates from running in the upcoming vote.
Earlier this year, a court ruled Thiam ineligible due to his dual Ivorian-French nationality, a decision he has vowed to contest.
Born in Ivory Coast, Thiam obtained French citizenship in 1987 but renounced it only in March, too late to satisfy eligibility rules.
Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, electoral commission president, said on Monday, “If the courts have ordered removal, we will comply.”
Other excluded candidates include former president Laurent Gbagbo, his ally Charles Ble Goude, and ex-prime minister Guillaume Soro.
Gbagbo and Ble Goude face charges linked to past civil conflicts, while Soro was sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment for orchestrating a coup.
Thiam was seen as the main challenger to incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, who won the 2020 election after a violent, disputed process.
With key opposition figures sidelined, Ivory Coast faces a tense and uncertain election this October, raising questions about democratic legitimacy.
