On September 16, in Côte d’Ivoire, a little more than 9,000 electors were called to vote to elect 64 senators, or almost two-thirds of the upper house. The remaining third should be designated by the President of the Republic. Unsurprisingly, the RHDP, the ruling party, emerged victorious in this election.
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With our correspondent in Abidjan, François Hume-Ferkatadji
Two weeks after the orange wave of local elections, the ruling party was assured of maintaining its majority. In fact, it is the regional and municipal councilors who vote to elect the senators. However, the RHDP won 23 regions out of 30 and 123 communes out of 199. The results could not be announced in the Guémon region due to several incidents on election day. Consequently, the two senatorial seats reserved for this region will remain empty until a new vote is organized.
Electoral disputes
According to the provisional results, the RHDP lists won 56 of the 64 seats to be filled. The PDCI, which had 18 seats during the previous mandate, obtained 6, and 2 seats went to independents. Ahead of this election, the opposition criticized the CEI for organizing the senatorial elections while the electoral disputes which concern the local elections of September 2 have not yet been processed by the Council of State.
Jean-Baptiste Pany, member of the PDCI, who lost his seat as senator for Gboklé, talks about “ rushed and illegal elections “. “ What will happen if the Council of State invalidates the election of a municipality or region? Will we have to vote again for the senatorial elections? », asks Ousmane Sy Savané, PPA-CI executive.
A suprise
A surprise, however, with the defeat of the outgoing president of the Senate, Jeannot Ahoussou-Kouadio, who therefore loses his senatorial seat. Local RHDP elected officials, although more numerous in the Bélier region, were divided and did not renew it. At midday, the participation rate was 69%, up 6 points compared to 2018. The CEI notes calm and peaceful elections, despite an incident in the city of Man.
Read alsoIvory Coast: the electoral commission cancels the results of the vote in the Guémon region