Ivory Coast’s main opposition leader has said he is resigning as party leader but would still lead the fight to win the election, after having been barred from standing in an October presidential vote.
“In the interest of the party, I’ve decided to place my mandate as president of the party in your hands, the activists,” Thiam said in a speech published on social media on Monday.
“This decision does not change the commitment I made in December 2023 to personally lead our party to victory in October 2025.”
President Alassane Ouattara, 83, who has been in power since 2011, has yet to say whether he plans to run again but has said he is eager to “continue serving my country”.
Tidjane Thiam’s campaign for the presidency of the West African country has been mired in tussles over his nationality, as presidential candidates are not allowed to hold dual citizenship.
Thiam was born in the Ivory Coast and renounced his French passport in March to enable his run for the top job. However, a court in Abidjan struck him off the electoral list last month, saying the 62-year-old politician had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987.
Thiam also faces a legal case against his election as head of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast–African Democratic Rally (PDCI) after a party member also contested his Ivorian nationality at the time he was chosen.
PDCI deputy president Ernest N’Koumo Mobio assumed the party’s interim leadership following Thiam’s announcement. He appealed for “cohesion, serenity and discipline” and called a party meeting early Monday due to “the urgency linked to the political situation”.
Three other opposition figures have also been excluded from the presidential race, including former President Laurent Gbagbo due to court convictions.
Thiam alleged irregularities on Monday. “While we had the right to hope for inclusive, transparent and peaceful elections, it is clear that the unjustified removal of the PDCI candidate is part of the logic of eliminating the leaders of the main opposition parties to ensure tailor-made elections and a certain victory,” he said.
The authorities regularly reject claims of any political intervention in the electoral process, saying decisions are taken by an independent judiciary.
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