Voters in Côte d’Ivoire went to the polls on Saturday, December 27, to elect their members of parliament, just two months after President Alassane Ouattara was re-elected for a fourth presidential term. According to partial results released on Sunday, December 28, the ruling party appears headed for a landslide victory and has already secured an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
This overwhelming trend in favor of the party in power follows the presidential election held two months earlier, in which Alassane Ouattara won with 89.77% of the vote, in a ballot from which several opposition figures were excluded.
More than eight million voters were called to the polls on Saturday. However, the legislative election, boycotted by the party of former president and now opposition leader Laurent Gbagbo, failed to generate strong enthusiasm, much like the presidential election. The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) estimated voter turnout at 32.34%, down from 37.88% in 2021.
By Sunday evening, results announced throughout the day by the CEI covered nearly two-thirds of the 255 seats at stake. The Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) won an overwhelming majority of constituencies and has already crossed the threshold of 128 seats, the number required for an absolute majority.
Unsurprisingly, the RHDP scored resounding victories in the north of the country, its historic stronghold, with 98.95% in Bouaké, the country’s second-largest city, 99.92% in Korhogo, and even 100% in Boundiali and Odienné. The ruling party has also continued to strengthen its presence in the southern and western regions, areas where the opposition had traditionally been strong.
Among senior government figures running in the elections, Vice President Tiémoko Meyliet Koné was elected with 99.93% in Tafiré (north). Former Prime Minister Patrick Achi won 82.75% in Adzopé (south), while Minister of Youth Mamadou Touré secured 79.06% in Daloa (central region).
In Abidjan, the influential Minister of Defense and brother of the President, Téné Birahima Ouattara, won the seat in the populous commune of Abobo with more than 88% of the vote, despite turnout remaining below 25%.
An MP Re-elected from Prison
As a result of this expected RHDP landslide, the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI)—which previously held around 60 seats—is set to suffer significant losses, with several incumbent lawmakers defeated. The PDCI did not field a candidate in the October presidential election, and its leader Tidjane Thiam, who was excluded from the electoral roll due to nationality issues, has been abroad since March.
Nevertheless, the party’s spokesperson, Soumaïla Bredoumy, who has been detained since late November on charges of “terrorist acts” and “plotting against state authority,” was re-elected in Tankessé (north-east). In the economic capital Abidjan, the PDCI also showed resilience, particularly in the affluent commune of Cocody, where senior party figure Jean-Marc Yacé won his seat. The main opposition party also prevailed in Plateau, Abidjan’s central business district.
Finally, several independent candidates were also elected. Some are dissidents from the RHDP, while others belong to Laurent Gbagbo’s party and chose to maintain their candidacies despite their party’s boycott call.
The outgoing National Assembly, which comprises 255 seats, included 163 RHDP deputies, 66 from the PDCI, 18 from the PPA-CI, and 4 independents, with four seats vacant.
