Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

Despite an encouraging overall economic outlook and relative political stability, municipal, regional, and senatorial elections in 2023 consolidated a worrying tendency towards the entrenchment and domination of the ruling Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) in Côte d’Ivoire. With a hotly contested 2025 presidential election looming on the horizon, the prospect of incumbent president Alassane Ouattara seeking a fourth consecutive term seemed to be on the cards, already stirring resistance and mobilisation among the divided and increasingly marginalised opposition. With the military take-over in Niger, the Ouattara administration also faced a shifting sub-regional political climate, in which foreign policy relations with Sahelian neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso seemed to deteriorate and little progress was made in the fight against regional jihadist extremism. At the same time, domestic security remained stable as major infrastructure investments were being finalised ahead of the African Cup of Nations football championships, hosted by Côte d’Ivoire for the first time since 1984. The Ivorian cocoa sector was the centre of international attention as unprecedented drops in production drove global selling prices to a record high.