Amid Tensions, Ivory Coast Begins a High-Stakes Presidential Campaign

A tense two-week race that will decide the future leadership of a country still dealing with the aftermath of previous electoral violence got underway on Friday with the formal start of the Ivory Coast presidential campaign. Alassane Ouattara, the incumbent, and five other approved candidates are currently competing for votes while the process is threatened by contentious exclusions.

The Constitutional Council has approved five candidates to appear on the ballot on October 25. President Alassane Ouattara of the ruling RHDP party is running in the race; he started his campaign in Abidjan, the country’s economic center.

The outcome of the election will have a significant impact on the stability of this 33 million-person West African country. Since Ivory Coast is the world’s biggest producer of cocoa and a developing exporter of gold, political stability is crucial to the country’s economic stability.

But the nation has a terrible history of violence after elections, particularly the 2010–2011 crisis that claimed thousands of lives. This raises the stakes for a peaceful handover of power and casts a long shadow over the present campaign.

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