Before the Presidential Election, Tidjane Thiam was Taken From the Electoral list

Ahead of the October 25 presidential election, Tidjane Thiam, the chairman of the biggest opposition party in Ivory Coast, has been taken off the electoral list. Thiam lost his Ivorian nationality, the court said on Tuesday, April 22. This ruling is definitive and cannot be challenged.

His attorney, Me Ange Rodrigue Dadjé, claims that the court allowed the request to have Thiam removed from the electoral list because it concluded that he lost his Ivorian identity upon obtaining French citizenship.

For months, a major theme of Thiam’s campaign has been nationality. Thiam, who was born in the Ivory Coast, obtained French citizenship in 1987 but relinquished it in March to fulfil the presidential eligibility rules, which prohibit holding multiple nationalities.

Citing Article 48 of the 1960s nationality code, which declares that obtaining another nationality results in the loss of Ivorian nationality, Thiam’s supporters contend that the decision is a political ploy to prevent him from running for office. However, those who are dual nationals by birth are exempt from this requirement.

The court dismissed Thiam’s legal team’s contention that he is also French by birth, as demonstrated by his father. The government’s “manoeuvres” to stop Thiam from running for politics have been denounced by his team.

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