Tidjane Thiam has been overwhelmingly re-elected as president of Côte d’Ivoire’s Democratic Party (PDCI-RDA), garnering 99.77% of the votes at an emergency congress held on May 14. Thiam, who ran unopposed, emphasized his mission to return the party to power, dismissing criticism and legal controversies surrounding his leadership.
“What matters to me is victory,” Thiam told delegates. “I’m not here to demean anyone.” He firmly stated that no amount of criticism, slander, or false accusations would distract him from his goal.
Thiam also commended the swift and efficient organization of the congress, which was pulled together in just 72 hours. He extended gratitude to interim party president Nkumu Mobio for his pivotal role in facilitating the event.
However, Thiam’s re-election comes during a turbulent time for the party. Merely three days before the congress, he submitted a sudden resignation, citing “judicial harassment.” Local reports suggest this move was a strategic effort to sidestep a looming legal clash with Valérie Yapo, a senior party official challenging the legitimacy of his initial election in December 2023.
Yapo alleges that Thiam failed to meet the party’s eligibility requirement of holding only Ivorian citizenship at the time of his election. As a result, Ivorian courts have ordered Thiam’s removal from the national voter registry—casting uncertainty over his political future.
This development intensifies the already volatile political climate in Côte d’Ivoire, just five months ahead of the next presidential election. Three prominent opposition leaders—Laurent Gbagbo, Guillaume Soro, and Charles Blé Goudé—have also been excluded from the provisional voter list released on March 17, due to ongoing legal convictions barring them from contesting.
Meanwhile, incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, now 83, has yet to declare whether he will run for re-election. While he expressed in January his continued desire to serve the nation, he has made no official statement on his candidacy.
