Four months old to Côte d’Ivoire’s presidential election, the Ivorian diaspora is mobilizing in Paris, and calling for democratic and inclusive elections.
This rally was once organized by the Childhood of the Democratic Salvage together of Côte d’Ivoire (JPDCI), the main opposition social gathering.
Handrey Fanoux was once on the rally:
“It be crucial for me to be here to reinforce my social gathering and to point to the total of Côte d’Ivoire that, even though we’re in another country, we participate in the expression of democracy in the nation where we dwell.”
The demonstrators are protesting the exclusion of their presidential candidate, Tidjane Thiam, from the electoral list for the October vote.
“Precisely our concern is that the president refuses to include our leader on the electoral list,” says Mélanie N’dri Amoin. “And that won’t please us. Not at all, really not at all.”
Mickael Kadji, is Vice President of JPDCI diaspora:
“This election desires to be inclusive, and all political social gathering presidents desires in grunt to stand, in grunt that on the finish of the day, the winner if truth be told represents the president of our nation, which is Côte d’Ivoire.”
Beyond reinforce their candidate, the social gathering is speaking out against a neighborhood climate of repression and disaster in the West African nation in the spin up to the election.
“We no longer have the right to demonstrate properly,” Kadji says. “The president of the scholar JPDCI was once arrested two days ago. The president of the agricultural JPDCI was once also arrested. So we no longer gain the supreme kind to enlighten out in Côte d’Ivoire.
“Young people just want democracy and peaceful elections. Côte d’Ivoire has never had peaceful elections. Today, in Côte d’Ivoire, when we talk about October, everyone is afraid. The population is frightened. You only have to hear ‘October 2025.’ We were born, and until now, we’ve never known peaceful elections. We want it to start now.”
For these participants of the Ivorian diaspora, there will even be no lasting peace without electoral justice. They are calling for a free, nonetheless and inclusive election to put in writing a new democratic page for Côte d’Ivoire.
