Ivory Coast: President Alassane Ouattara Secures 4th Term with 89.7% Votes

Ivory Coast’s long-serving leader, President Alassane Ouattara, has been declared the winner of the 2025 presidential election, securing a fourth term in office amid growing criticism from the opposition.

According to provisional results released by the Independent Electoral Commission (CIE) on Monday evening, Ouattara clinched a landslide victory with 89.77% of the votes, amounting to about 3.75 million ballots cast in his favor.

His closest rival, Jean-Louis Billon, managed to secure only 3.09%, trailing far behind in a contest that many observers described as lopsided.

Voter turnout was recorded at 50.1%, reflecting a moderate level of participation across the West African nation.

The CIE emphasized that the results remain provisional pending ratification by the Constitutional Council, which will review any electoral petitions or disputes before announcing final results.

The announcement has sparked immediate backlash from opposition parties, including factions loyal to former President Laurent Gbagbo and politician Tidjane Thiam, who denounced the results as a “civilian coup d’état.”

In a joint statement, opposition leaders vowed not to recognize Ouattara’s victory, accusing the electoral body of bias, voter suppression, and irregularities throughout the process.

President Ouattara, who first came to power in 2011 after the disputed 2010 polls that ousted Gbagbo, was initially limited to two terms.

However, a 2016 constitutional amendment reset the term count, allowing him to seek re-election in 2020 and now again in 2025, further deepening political divisions in the country.