Barely re-elected president, Alassane Ouattara hardens his tone against the opposition

It is not in the habits of the neighborhood. In Cocody-Ambassades, the residences are vast and beautiful, the lawns well trimmed, the vehicles expensive and the inhabitants rich or prestigious, or even both. So when a flaming barricade stands in the middle of the road a few meters from the entrance to this redoubt of the Ivorian aristocracy, a great bourgeois at the wheel of her Mercedes 500 questions the onlookers with astonishment: ” What’s happening ? “ The answer bursts forth immediately: “It’s Ouattara who has everyone arrested. “ A little further, Eric, a law student promises to fight “Until death for the rule of law, the defense of the Constitution and against the presidency for life” of the outgoing Head of State, before scattering like a flock of sparrows after a tear gas shot.

The outgoing president, hours after the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced his victory for a contested third term by a score of more than 94%, demonstrated that threats of arrest did not amount to simple intimidation. Several lieutenants of Henri Konan Bédié were arrested at the home of the former head of state in the afternoon of Tuesday, November 3.

From 1:30 p.m., the large single-storey building was surrounded by the CRS, responsible for dispersing the demonstrators gathered around the scene with tear gas, before the elite units of the gendarmerie and the republican guard took over. . These finally entered the house, taking Maurice Kakou Guikahué, the executive secretary of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire, and about twenty other officials of the party of the former head of state. According to the latest information, after driving back to his home, Mr. Guikahué was arrested again by the police. Henri Konan Bédié remained in his house with his wife. The gendarmes responsible for their protection were withdrawn from them.

Intimidations

A few hours earlier, Maurice Kakou Guikahué had held a press conference to denounce the intimidation of the day before, when the police had thrown stun grenades near the homes of Mr. Bédié and other political figures, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, the spokesperson for the opposition coalition, former minister Albert Toikeusse Mabri and Assoa Adou, very close to former president Laurent Gbagbo.

“This is a serious setback for our democracy. Henri Konan Bédié remains determined and committed to successfully carrying out the mission of public safety, as president of the national transitional council ” he explained in front of some journalists still present in the house, before urging the Ivorians “To remain mobilized and to demonstrate publicly to overcome any attempt to prevent the establishment of the transitional government.” ”

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