In Côte d’Ivoire, the political dialogue session which opened on December 16 ended on Friday. Facing the government, 21 political parties and 26 civil society organizations took part. All signed the final report which recommends a certain number of recommendations intended to prepare a peaceful political climate for the next elections of 2023.
With our correspondent in Abidjan, Peter Pinto
If there is something that is unanimous within political formations, it is the need for a ” more regular payment of subsidies to political parties “. And speaking of money, the participants in the “political dialogue” also agreed on the need to re-examine the mechanism for funding candidates and reimbursement of presidential campaign expenses.
Also among the recommendations are the question of reparations and compensation for the victims of political violence in 2020, or the transmission to the Prime Minister’s Office of the list of political figures whose accounts have still been frozen since 2011. The parties finally agreed agree on the need to redevelop the Independent Electoral Commission where the pro-Gbagbo do not sit and to think about the electoral boundaries. A monitoring framework will be set up to oversee the implementation of all these recommendations.
Exchanges that allowed some progress »
In total, the report includes a dozen recommendations from a consensus to which Ivorian politics is unaccustomed. At the exit, Prime Minister Patrick Achi did not hide his satisfaction. ” I believe that this augurs for our country a future in which democracy will be even more strengthened, but above all where stability and lasting peace are an indisputable fact. We must congratulate the political actors, those of civil society and all Ivorians “, did he declare.
No consensus on the other hand on the prisoners of the crises of 2010 and 2020 or on the extension of the amnesty of 2018 in particular to Laurent Gbagbo or Charles Blé Goude. For Georges Armand Ouégnin, vice-president of the party of Laurent Gbagbo the PPA-CI, satisfaction was therefore more measured. ” Despite the discussions, which were relatively stormy, we agreed on certain points and I believe that is the main thing. We cannot agree on all points, but we are trying to find solutions. I leave with a feeling that there has been some progress even if there has not been all the progress. »
Towards a “willingness to build together”
A monitoring framework will oversee the implementation of these recommendations. ” We were pleased with the quality of the contact we had with the government, there was a lot of transparency and good will and we think that this will will stimulate the will to build together. We have no preconceptions, but we remain confident “, specified Niamkey Koffi vice-president of the PDCI.
But these recommendations leave de facto aside from other points fiercely discussed during the debates, such as the freedom to demonstrate or the independence of justice. Also left aside is the question of limiting the age of presidential candidates, which could give rise to a debate during the next parliamentary session.