Tension is mounting in Ivory Coast ahead of Saturday’s presidential election after a gendarme — a paramilitary police officer was shot and killed while on patrol in the country’s south.
Authorities said the assailants remain unidentified, but the area is a traditional opposition stronghold that has seen recent protests after two leading opposition figures, Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, were barred from contesting in the upcoming vote.
In response, President Alassane Ouattara’s government has banned all demonstrations nationwide. The 83-year-old leader, who is seeking a controversial fourth term, now faces four remaining challengers: Simone Gbagbo, Ahoua Don Mello, Jean-Louis Billon, and Henriette Lagou. Their campaign rallies have not been affected by the protest ban.
Since coming to power in 2011, Ouattara has invested heavily in infrastructure projects across the country. However, critics say rising inequality and the soaring cost of living have deepened public frustration. His opponents also accuse him of being too close to France, Ivory Coast’s former colonial ruler.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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