January, 2001

Côte d'Ivoire: a Difficult Transition to Democracy

Tareq Adel Al-Sheikh

On 26 October 2000, Laurent Gbagbo was sworn in as president of Côte d'Ivoire, restoring civilian rule and democracy after the ten-month military rule of General Robert Guéi. Guéi took control on 24 December 1999 in a military coup, during which he and his allies deposed the president-elect Henri Konan Bédié, who managed to escape to France.


The ten-month period of military rule in Côte d'Ivoire began as a corrective coup, backed up by the formation of the National Committee for Popular Salvation -CNSP-. However, following a referendum on the country's new constitution, Guéi became increasingly authoritarian, as was clear in his dealings with the opposition powers as well as his aggravation of differences between members of the ruling military elite. Not long after this, these differences became widely known, leading to a counter-coup as a result of which many military leaders in the ruling military council were removed.


On 22 October 2000, the Supreme Court issued the final list of presidential candidates. This was accompanied by the declaration of a state of emergency and a curfew in order to curb any skirmishes that might have been spurred by supporters of the disqualified candidates. Only five candidates were allowed to run for the elections: Guéi; Gbagbo, the leader of the Front Populaire Ivoirien -FPI-; Francis Wodié, the leader of the Parti Ivoirien des Travailleurs -PIT-; a candidate from the Union Democratique de la Côte d'Ivoire -UDCI-; and an independent.
Amongst the disqualified candidates were Emile Constant Bombet, the candidate of the Parti Democratique de la Côte d'Ivoire -PDCI-, deposed president Konan Bédié and Alassane Ouattara of the Rassemblement des Républicains -RDR-. This invalidation of candidacy came as a blow to the two major parties that had occupied 75 per cent of the parliamentary seats before the coup.
For the first two days of the elections, both Gbagbo and Guéi were claiming victory, though the National Electoral Commission -NEC- announced that Gbagbo was ahead in the first stage.


On 23 October, the NEC announced the final results and Guéi's victory. As a result, violence erupted across Abidjan and demonstrators laid siege to the presidential palace. Amid the turbulence, the media announced that Guéi was to flee, most probably to Benin, after most of the military withdrew their support. The NEC then declared the victory of Gbagbo, who had obtained 59.3 per cent of the votes as compared to Guéi's 32.7 per cent.


The results of the elections were followed by new clashes that developed into a sectarian conflict between the supporters of Gbagbo and those of Ouattara -who doubted the constitutionality of the elections from their beginning-. Following an attack on his house, Ouattara was forced to seek refuge in the residence of the German ambassador.


On 26 October 2000, Gbagbo was sworn in against a background of violence and local and international calls to calm the situation. In an attempt to maintain the unity of the country and avoid the eruption of civil war, the new president formed a government for 'national unity'. This new 23-minister government, with Affi N'Guessan -former minister of tourism in the transitional government during military rule- as premier, included 18 members of the FPI, three from the PCDI and two from the PTI.


With regard to the international position towards Côte d'Ivoire, there were calls from many to the warring factions to stop the conflict and restore democracy. In spite of the harsh criticism directed against the Guéi government for disqualifying many candidates before the running of the elections and the call of some for a re-run, many international parties hailed the restoration of democracy.


The crisis in Côte d'Ivoire underscores how democratic thought has gained momentum in sub-Saharan Africa, even if its application remains a controversial matter. It has now become more difficult to introduce unconstitutional amendments or install a president through unconstitutional means.