A constitutional referendum was held in
Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre i ...
on 30 October 2016.
[Ivory Coast constitutional referendum to be held in October]
Africa News, 7 August 2016 Voters were asked whether they approve of a proposed new constitution. The new constitution would create a Senate, remove the nationality clause from the presidential requirements and establish the post of Vice-President.
[ The constitution was approved by 93.42% of votes with a 42.42% turnout, as announced by the president of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI).
]
Background
The holding of the referendum was approved by the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
on 22 July 2016 by a vote of 233 to 6 with seven abstentions.[Ivory Coast parliament votes to hold referendum on new constitution]
Reuters, 22 July 2016
New constitution
The new constitution includes several changes to the current constitution, including the removal of a requirement for both parents of presidential candidates to be natural-born Ivorians and not to have had any other citizenship.[ It would also create the post of Vice-President and a Senate composed of former public servants.][ The President, Vice-President and two thirds of the Senate is to be elected at the same time as parliamentary elections, with the remaining third appointed by the president-elect.
There is speculation that President ]Alassane Ouattara
Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF)[2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...]
if the clauses in the current constitution that requires presidential candidates to be younger than 75 is scrapped. However, he has continued to promise that he would retire from politics in 2020 after two five-year terms (2010–2015 and 2015–2020).[Côte d’Ivoire's new constitution analysed]
CNBC Africa, 6 October 2016
Campaign
Campaigning for the referendum was held between 22 and 29 October. The proposed constitution was supported by the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace
The Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (french: Rassemblement des houphouëtistes pour la démocratie et la paix, RHDP) is a political party in Ivory Coast.
History
The RHDP was established as a political alliance on 18 May 2005, se ...
, an alliance composed of the Rally of the Republicans
The Rally of the Republicans (french: Rassemblement des Républicains; abbreviated RDR) is a liberal party in Ivory Coast (). The party is the country's governing party; the party's leader, Alassane Ouattara, is the current President of Ivory ...
, the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
, the Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire, the Movement of the Forces of the Future
The Movement of the Forces of the Future (french: Mouvement des Forces d'Avenir, MFA) is a political party in Côte d'Ivoire. The MFA was founded by Innocent Anaky in December 1992.
In the parliamentary election held on 10 December 2000 and 14 Ja ...
and the Union for Ivory Coast
The Union for Ivory Coast (french: Union pour la Côte d’Ivoire; abbreviated UPCI) is political party in the Ivory Coast led by former Me Brahima Soro. It was part of the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace
The Rally of Houphou� ...
, and some other parliamentary parties, including the Ivorian Workers' Party
The Ivorian Party of Workers (french: Parti ivoirien des travailleurs, PIT) is a centre-left democratic socialist and social democratic, political party in Ivory Coast. It is led by Francis Wodié and was founded on April 8, 1990.
The PIT ran W ...
. It was opposed by a coalition of 23 parties headed by former president Laurent Gbagbo
Koudou Laurent Gbagbo
, FPI website .
, where youth groups mainly from the opposition ransacked schools and several polling stations. The youth groups have been reported as being opposition members, who prevented people from voting in opposition strong holds. The interior minister Hamed Bakayoko declared that there was reported violence at over 100 polling stations in the city.
Results
By region
References
External links
Official website
Abidjan.net
{{Ivorian elections
2016 in Ivory Coast
2016 referendums
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
Constitutional referendums
October 2016 events in Africa