The 75-year-old age limit for the presidential election had jumped when the 2016 Constitution was drafted, but the debate raged last year for several months over whether or not to put it back in place. What had triggered the debate was that an unlabelled deputy, Antoine Assalé Tiémoko, also director of the newspaper the Unleashed Elephant indicated that he would submit a bill to this effect. The parliamentary session restarted a week ago, and the deputy kept his word.
With our correspondent in Abidjan, Peter Pinto
Deputy Antoine Assalé Tiémoko has in fact tabled two bills. The first aims to amend the Constitution to restore the upper age limit of 75 for presidential candidates. Question which has been debated for several months during the last year and which divides even within the political parties.
The proposal also intends in particular to abolish the post of vice-president which, according to its author ” has proven its worthlessness “. The independent elected representative from Tiassalé also intends to raise the number of presidential terms to “ non-revisable standard “.
The second bill aims to modify the electoral code, in particular by reducing the deposit for the presidential election to 20 million CFA francs against 50 million today. It also intends to prohibit political transhumance, and make the declaration of assets compulsory for any election.
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The National Assembly has not yet adopted its work program. To be debated in committee and then in plenary, these proposals must above all be retained in the timetable that the deputies must adopt soon. Regarding the bill amending the Constitution, it will also have to be tabled in the Senate when it resumes its work.
Above all, at the end, it will have to obtain a two-thirds majority of the Congress, that is to say of the two chambers. Or else be submitted to a referendum if the President of the Republic so decides. We are therefore only at the very beginning of the process.