The West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) has urged politicians in Ivory Coast to be more responsible as Ivorians go to the polls on 31 October amid opposition boycott.
Development Diaries understands that at least 14 people have been killed since riots broke out in August after President Alassane Ouattara said he would run again following the sudden death of his preferred successor.
Henri Konan Bédié and Pascal Affi N’Guessan, who are the main opposition candidates, are boycotting the vote and have called for civil disobedience.
They say it is illegal for the president to stand for a third term as the country’s constitution has a two-term presidential limit.
WACSOF called on political actors to stop putting the lives of poor citizens in danger.
‘WACSOF calls on authorities to refer to and to apply the protocols and charters that the country ratified, notably, the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance (ACDEG)’, the group said in a statement.
‘WACSOF calls on Ivorian authorities to reconsider their decision in withdrawing from ‘the declaration of competence provided for in the protocol relating to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
‘This would have served as a useful tool used for citizens and civil society organisations during critical situations such as that which the citizens of Ivory Coast face at the moment’.
‘WACSOF calls on ECOWAS to take courageous steps in identifying actors who are hindering the putting into action of peaceful recommendations and calls for possible sanctions to be meted out’, it added.
The ruling party, Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), had nominated Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly to succeed Ouattara before Coulibaly died of a heart attack in July.
Ouattara subsequently announced that he would run for president, with his supporters arguing that a constitutional change in 2016 reset the clock and that his first term did not count.
Source: WACSOF
Photo source: Guillaume Mignot
