Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara has secured a landslide fourth term in office, winning 89.77 percent of the vote in an election marked by low voter turnout and the absence of key opposition leaders, according to results announced Monday by the country’s electoral commission.
Nearly nine million Ivorians were eligible to vote in Saturday’s poll, held amid tight security in the world’s leading cocoa-producing nation, which has largely avoided the coups and insurgencies troubling much of West Africa. However, the run-up to the election was marred by tensions and sporadic violence, leading to at least eight deaths earlier in the month.
Early tallies released on Sunday had already projected Ouattara’s victory, with the incumbent winning nearly 90 percent of the vote across several regions, including his northern strongholds, where turnout approached 100 percent. He also led in parts of Abidjan and the traditionally pro-opposition south, where voter participation was notably low.
The Independent Electoral Commission chair, Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly, announced that entrepreneur Jean-Louis Billon finished second with 3.09 percent, while overall voter turnout stood at 50.10 percent—a figure similar to the 2020 election, which Ouattara also won by a wide margin.
This year’s race was heavily shaped by the exclusion of two major opposition figures — former President Laurent Gbagbo, barred due to a criminal conviction, and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam, ruled ineligible because of dual nationality. Analysts say their disqualification significantly weakened the opposition and discouraged many voters.
“Their absence and the rising tensions clearly demobilized large parts of the electorate,” said William Assanvo, a senior researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).
In Gagnoa, Gbagbo’s former base, Ouattara won 92 percent of the vote but with only 20 percent turnout, underscoring the sharp regional divide.
Opposition groups have rejected the results, denouncing the election as illegitimate and calling for a fresh vote. Political analyst Geoffroy Kouao described the outcome as a reflection of “a deeply divided electorate,” noting that Ouattara’s overwhelming results in some areas contrasted with near-total apathy in opposition regions.
Despite the tensions, the capital Abidjan appeared calm on Monday, with businesses reopening and traffic resuming. Pro-government newspaper Patriote hailed the outcome as proof that “Ivorians said no to prophets of doom,” while the opposition daily Notre Voie described the process as evidence of “a nation still split in two.”
Ouattara, who first rose to power after the 2010–2011 post-election crisis that claimed over 3,000 lives, now faces the challenge of uniting a country still grappling with political distrust and voter fatigue as he begins his fourth consecutive term.
