Ivorian constitutional referendum, 2016

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A constitutional referendum was held in Ivory Coast on 30 October 2016. [1] [2] 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. [3] [4] 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). [5]

Ivory Coast State in West Africa

Ivory Coast or Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country located on the south coast of West Africa. Ivory Coast's political capital is Yamoussoukro in the centre of the country, while its economic capital and largest city is the port city of Abidjan. It borders Guinea and Liberia to the west, Burkina Faso and Mali to the north, Ghana to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south.

Contents

Background

The holding of the referendum was approved by the National Assembly on 22 July 2016 by a vote of 233 to 6 with seven abstentions. [6]

National Assembly (Ivory Coast) National Assembly of Ivory Coast

The National Assembly is lower house of the Parliament of Ivory Coast since November 2016. From 1960 to 2016, The National Assembly was Ivory Coast's unicameral legislative body. Evolved from semi-representative bodies of the French Colonial period, the first National Assembly was constituted on 27 November 1960 with 70 elected members (députés) in accordance with the Constitution of 31 October 1960, which created the First Republic.

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. [6] It would also create the post of Vice-President and a Senate composed of former public servants. [2] 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. [7]

There is speculation that President Alassane Ouattara may seek a third term in 2020 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). [4]

Alassane Ouattara President of Côte dIvoire

Alassane Dramane Ouattara is an Ivorian politician who has been President of Ivory Coast since 2010. An economist by profession, Ouattara worked for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Bank of West African States, and he was the Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire from November 1990 to December 1993, appointed to that post by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny. Ouattara became the President of the Rally of the Republicans (RDR), an Ivorian political party, in 1999.

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, an alliance composed of the Rally of the Republicans, the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, the Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire, the Movement of the Forces of the Future and the Union for Ivory Coast, and some other parliamentary parties, including the Ivorian Workers' Party. It was opposed by a coalition of 23 parties headed by former president Laurent Gbagbo due to the lack of public consultation during the drafting process. [2] [8]

Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace political alliance

The Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace is a political alliance in Ivory Coast.

Rally of the Republicans

The Rally of the Republicans 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 Coast.

Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte dIvoire

The Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire is a political party in Côte d'Ivorie, led by Toikeuse Mabri. In the 2011 parliamentary election, the party won 7 seats. In the 2016 parliamentary election, the party won 6 seats.

Conduct

On polling day there was violence in pockets of Abidjan, 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. [9] The interior minister Hamed Bakayoko declared that there was reported violence at over 100 polling stations in the city. [10]

Abidjan City and autonomous district in Côte dIvoire

Abidjan is the economic capital of Ivory Coast and one of the most populous French-speaking cities in Africa. According to the 2014 census, Abidjan's population was 4.7 million, which is 20 percent of the overall population of the country, and this also makes it the sixth most populous city proper in Africa, after Lagos, Cairo, Kinshasa, Dar es Salaam, and Johannesburg. A cultural crossroads of West Africa, Abidjan is characterised by a high level of industrialisation and urbanisation.

Results

ChoiceVotes%
For2,480,28793.42
Against174,7146.58
Invalid/blank votes23,600
Total2,678,601100
Registered voters/turnout6,313,75842.42
Source: CEI

By region

Region Turnout (%)For (%)Against (%)
Agnéby-Tiassa 44.3479.8820.12
Bafing 78.7699.120.88
Bagoué 64.8299.110.89
Bélier 37.5192.367.64
Béré 73.5899.240.76
Bounkani 52.9396.593.41
Cavally 27.6588.0012.00
Folon 86.4799.900.10
Gbêkê 35.8089.0310.97
Gbôklé 32.3993.546.46
Gôh 21.2694.125.88
Gontougo 51.2893.376.63
Grands-Ponts 17.9286.1913.81
Guémon 29.2393.096.91
Hambol 59.8398.661.34
Haut-Sassandra 30.8294.105.90
Iffou 38.6694.385.65
Indénié-Djuablin 31.2889.8910.11
Kabadougou 86.5199.860.14
La Mé 60.1878.9521.05
Lôh-Djiboua 25.1593.366.64
Marahoué 28.4892.687.32
Moronou 35.8989.4510.55
Nawa 33.7094.935.07
N'Zi 27.1888.7011.30
Poro 86.5899.570.43
San-Pédro 17.4989.4810.52
Sud-Comoé 30.8891.878.13
Tchologo 68.7999.270.73
Tonkpi 33.3090.549.46
Worodougou 88.9599.720.28
Autonomous Districts
Abidjan Autonomous District 46.2593.896.11
Yamoussoukro Autonomous District 23.6986.2313.77
Ivorian diaspora
Belgium 10.6382.4017.6
Burkina Faso 10.5982.4117.59
France 5.1894.365.64
Canada 4.6277.4622.54
Gabon 26.6896.083.92
Guinea 54.1093.176.83
Italy 13.1189.3710.63
Mali 12.5585.8914.11
Morocco 13.3984.8615.14
Senegal 8.7378.6421.36
South Africa 62.5496.093.91
United Kingdom 7.6495.274.73
United States 26.5997.472.53
Total42.4293.426.58
Source: CEI

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