Ivory Coast’s opposition leaders rallied at the state television station and electoral commission on Monday to call for a new electoral body to replace one they said is biased in favour of President Alassane Ouattara’s government. Ouattara is tipped to win a second term at the Oct. 25 election after presiding over rapid economic growth in the wake of civil wars in 2002 and 2010, but his bid has been met with some unrest.
Around 500-700 people including five of 10 presidential candidates attended Monday’s demonstration in the economic capital Abidjan, according to a Reuters journalist. Police said attendance was closer to 300.
“It has been a year since we called on President Ouattara to open a dialogue,” presidential candidate Bertin Kouako Konan told journalists. “We are asking for the electoral commission to be balanced because currently it is controlled by the regime.”
Full Article: Ivory Coast opposition calls for new electoral commission | Reuters.
