Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara has won a fourth term in office following a landslide victory in the country’s presidential election, the electoral commission announced on Monday. The result extends Ouattara’s decade-long rule in one of West Africa’s fastest-growing economies, according to Reuters.
The Independent Electoral Commission reported that Ouattara secured over 68 percent of the vote, far ahead of his main challenger, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, who garnered just under 25 percent. The election, held on Sunday, recorded a voter turnout of around 62 percent, with international observers from the African Union and ECOWAS describing the process as largely peaceful and credible, France24 reported.
In his victory speech in Abidjan, Ouattara pledged to consolidate the nation’s economic progress and promote unity after a tense campaign period. “Ivory Coast has shown that democracy can thrive alongside stability and growth,” he said, promising to focus on job creation, rural development, and foreign investment.
Analysts say the win reinforces investor confidence in Ivory Coast’s political and economic stability, a country that has maintained one of Africa’s strongest GDP growth rates over the past decade. However, opposition figures have expressed concern over term limits and called for reforms to strengthen democratic institutions, Bloomberg noted.
