The announcement came as no surprise. When Ibrahime Kuibiert Coulibaly, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, stood before the press in Abidjan late Monday afternoon, it was to declare incumbent Alassane Ouattara president-elect of Cote d'Ivoire. At 83 years old, Ouattara is set for a fourth term as president of the west African nation.

Ouattara was the candidate inSaturday's presidential elections for the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), named after the country's first president, and secured 89.77% of the votes according to the provisional results. The four other contenders were left far behind, collecting between 1 and 3% of votes cast.

Low voter turnout, trauma from past elections 

Does this mean that Ouattara's 14-year rule is beyond doubt for Ivorians? For Ivorian political analyst Nazaire Kadja, the voter turnout rate merits in-depth analysis to understand the true level of voter support.

"We'd like to point out that voter turnout for this election was mixed. High in the northern regions, very low in the south and west," Kadja told DW.

Of the nearly 9 million registered voters, about 4.5 million cast their ballots, meaning the voter turnout was 50%, making it one of the lowest in the country's election history. In 2020, the voter turnout was 53%.

One factor was the overall security situation: For many Ivorians, presidential elections are to this day synonymous with political and inter-community tensions, following the 2010 elections where 3,000 people were killed. At the time, Ouattara stood against then-President Laurent Gbagbo. In the 2020 presidential election, 85 deaths were reported.

In the 2025 election, six people died during the election campaign , according to the National Human Rights Council (CNDH). The civil society organization recorded another four deaths on election day, while opposition groups put the number at seven.

Are Ivorians not interested in elections anymore?

"Beyond the incidents that must have had an impact on the turnout, we must also remember that a large part of the Ivorian population did not feel concerned by this election," said analyst Kadja.

Indeed, Ouattara's leading rivals — ex-Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam and former president Laurent Gbagbo — were both barred from standing, Thiam for having acquired French nationality and Gbagbo for a criminal conviction.

"Their absence, their calls not to participate in the election and the climate of tension that deteriorated in recent days foretold a significant demobilization of the electorate," said William Assanvo, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Dakar, Senegal.

Against this backdrop, Cherif Osman, a young executive of Thiam's Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire — African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA), the main Ivorian opposition party, has called for a re-run election. He believes that only a new inclusive election can restore voters' confidence and strengthen the current government's legitimacy.

"We call on him to resume the electoral process in a spirit of inclusion, fairness and peace," Osman said.

Opposition decries 'violation of democracy'

For his part, Tidjane Thiam, former banker and current president of the PDCI-RDA, denounced what he described as a violation of democratic rules in an emotional statement.

In his view, the conduct of last Saturday's presidential election "trampled on the elementary principles of democracy," compromising the credibility of the electoral process and the country's political stability.

"What has just happened is not a real election and what we have witnessed is not a credit to our country," he said. "The facts are clear. President Alassane Ouattara ran for a controversial fourth term. This electoral exercise has divided our country. Today, unfortunately, divisions have deepened, and communities are pitted against each other."

"Horror is back in some parts of the country," Thiam said, alluding to the incidents in the south and west of the country.

Though other regions remained relatively calm during the elections, the next government will therefore once again have the task of reconciling Ivorians after this presidential election — a situation that brings to mind the circumstances surrounding Ouattara's first election in 2010.

At the time, it was only after months of fierce fighting, with the help of the French military, that Ouattara could finally be sworn into office.

Edited by: C.Mwakideu