According to ehistorylib, in 2005, the Ivory Coast had a population of around 18 million people and a GDP of $35 billion. The economy was largely based on agriculture, with the main exports being cocoa and coffee. Unemployment rates were high at around 25%, while poverty levels remained quite high with an estimated 40% of the population living below the poverty line.
Foreign relations in 2005 were generally positive with the Ivory Coast being a member of various international organizations such as the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In addition, it maintained diplomatic ties with many countries in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.
Politically, Ivory Coast was a semi-presidential republic during this time period with executive power vested in both the President and Prime Minister who were elected by Parliament every five years. The President had authority over foreign policy decisions and could veto any legislation passed by Parliament. Furthermore, there were three branches of government: Executive (President), Legislative (Parliament) and Judicial (Supreme Court). These branches worked together to ensure that laws were properly enforced throughout the country.
Yearbook 2005
Ivory Coast. In December 2004, Parliament had amended several laws to facilitate the peace process after the civil war of 2002–03. In January, however, President Laurent Gbagbo said that the key issue about the presidential candidates’ “pure” Ivorian background must be submitted to a referendum. When he also demanded that the peacekeeping forces of the UN and West Africa immediately disarm the rebels in the north, the so-called New Forces, the peace process again collapsed. According to countryaah, Yamoussoukro is the capital and one of the major cities within the country of Côte d’Ivoire. Swedish diplomat Pierre Schori was appointed UN envoy, but the continued mediation was mainly handled by South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki.
- Also see abbreviationfinder.org for how the acronym IV stands for the country of Ivory Coast and other meanings of this two-letter abbreviation.
After negotiations in Pretoria in April, everyone agreed that the war was over – as they have said several times before – and that all militias would begin to disarm. New forces re-entered the unity government and heavy weapons began to be pulled away from both sides of the front line. Gbagbo agreed that the disputed opposition politician Alassane Ouattara, with a partly Burkinian background, would be allowed to run for office in the presidential election to be held this fall.
After all, things seemed to be on the rails against peace and free elections, rebel forces in the western Ivory Coast were attacked by what they claimed was Gbagbotrogen militia. Dozens of people were killed in the fighting. Now the suspicion between the parties again increased and the disarmament process stopped. The new forces refused to give up more weapons unless Gbagbo’s militia did. Nervousness increased and Schori demanded a strong strengthening of the UN force. However, the Security Council approved only an extra battalion of about 850 men.
Although Gbagbo claimed in August that, at Thabo Mbeki’s call, through decrees, he confirmed the legislative amendments that Parliament adopted before the turn of the year, the New Forces refused to continue disarming because the decree was not published. The rebels suspected that the president could have changed important wording. In September, the UN stated that presidential elections could not be held on October 30, the day before Gbagbo’s term expired. The Security Council accepted the decision by the African Union to allow Gbagbo to sit for an extra year, on condition that a new Prime Minister acceptable to all parties was appointed. Not until December, however, did African mediators manage to find an acceptable candidate, West African Governor of the Bank Charles Konan Banny. This man succeeded shortly before the New Year gathering the major parties and the New Forces in a new government.
September
The international crisis group wants the presidential election to be postponed
September 29
The International Crisis Group (ICG) is calling on Côte d’Ivoire to postpone the presidential election scheduled for the end of October and to allow politicians in exile to return home. If the parties have more time, there is a greater possibility that the conflicts can be resolved through dialogue and thus avoid a serious crisis in the country, according to ICG. The organization lists several measures that are needed, including setting up a more independent election commission, reviewing and revising the ballot papers and making it clear what has happened to supporters of politicians in exile who are still being held in prison.
ACHPR believes that Gbagbo should be allowed to run in the presidential election
September 25
The African Court of Human and Human Rights (ACHPR) has ruled that former President Laurent Gbagbo should run in the October presidential election and calls on the Ivorian authorities to remove all obstacles to his candidacy. Gbagbo was acquitted by the ICC in 2019, but lives in Brussels while waiting for the court to rule on an appeal of the acquittal. Côte d’Ivoire decided in April 2020 not to allow ACHPR <.’S decision to include allegations of human rights violations coming from individuals or NGOs.
Presidential candidates call for civil disobedience against Ouattara
September 20
One of the four candidates in this autumn’s presidential election, the 86-year-old former president Henri Konan Bédié, is calling for civil disobedience in protest against President Ouattara being allowed to run, something he believes is happening in violation of the constitution. A few days later, another presidential candidate, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, backed the call. None of it, however, has said anything about what form such manifestations should be able to take.
Soro calls for protests against the presidential election
September 17
Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader, prime minister and president, who was refused a seat in the presidential election, is now urging his supporters to protest. He also tells journalists in Paris, where he is, that he is still a presidential candidate. He says the election in its current form should be seen as a coup by President Ouattara. Soro urges opposition forces to even before the election.
ACHPR believes that Soro should be allowed to participate in the presidential election
September 15
The African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) is calling on Ivorian authorities to overturn the decision to reject Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader, prime minister and president, as a candidate. The ACHPR marking, which is preliminary, is expected to have limited significance, however, as Côte d’Ivoire in April 2020 decided not to allow the court’s decision to include allegations of human rights violations coming from individuals or NGOs. This came after the court called on Côte d’Ivoire, and Benin, not to exclude opposition candidates in this year’s elections.
The opposition criticizes the Constitutional Council
September 15
The Constitutional Council’s decision to reject all but four of the presidential candidates is harshly criticized by large sections of the opposition. also from politicians who have been given the go-ahead to participate. Protests are raging in several cities, despite a demonstration ban (it is now being extended to September 30). Demonstrations with the cape aimed at Ouattara are held in Bonoua, of Guiglo, Bangolo, Facobly and Duekoué, among others.
Only four candidates are approved by the Constitutional Council
September 14
The Constitutional Council gives President Alassane Ouattara the go-ahead to run for a third term in the October 31 presidential election. According to the constitution, a president can only sit in power for two terms, but when the country adopted a new constitution in 2016, it begins, according to the court, to recalculate since then. The Council approves three more candidates: former president Henri Konan Bédié of the opposition PDCI party, former prime minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan of the FPI and Kouadio Konan Bertin, who left the PDCI, while 40 other candidates are rejected. Ouattara’s decision to run in the election, following the sudden death of the original candidate (see July 2020) has caused protests in several parts of the country, which have claimed dozens of lives. Today, protesters set up roadblocks in several cities, in Abidjan a bus is set on fire. A vehicle was also burned in Bangolo in the western part of the country.
Bédié and Soro are running for president
September 14
Former presidential candidate Henri Konan Bédié of the opposition PDCI party and former rebel leader and prime minister Guillaume Soro have been nominated in the October 31 presidential election. Soro, who according to a court decision is not allowed to show up (see August 2020) says that he intends to participate from the exile in France as a representative of Generation and people in solidarity (GPS). Bédié appeared before tens of thousands of supporters in the capital Yamoussoukro, urging the opposition to agree on his candidacy to defeat President Ouattara.
