Background

Political tensions mounted in the months leading up to the presidential elections on 25 October. This was particularly so after the Constitutional Council in September invalidated the candidacies of Laurent Gbagbo, former president and current leader of the opposition African People’s Party-Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI); and Tidjane Thiam, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA). Alassane Dramane Ouattara was elected for a fourth term as president.

While inflation decreased to around 3%, the high cost of fuel, food and housing continued to put a strain on households.

Freedom of expression and assembly

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), journalist and Beninese refugee Comlan Hugues Sossoukpè, was arrested in July in Abidjan and handed over to the Beninese authorities to answer charges of inciting rebellion, hatred and violence, harassment via electronic communication and glorifying terrorism. RSF said they received multiple reports of Ivorian government and political opposition members intimidating and threatening journalists.

In August the Abidjan prefect banned and then authorized a joint PPA-CI/PDCI-RDA march. In September authorities banned a sit-in by the National Union of State Suppliers.

On 2 October the National Security Council announced that “all necessary measures” would be taken to maintain order and security during the election period. Following the announcement, PPA-CI and PDCI-RDA demonstrations planned for 4 and 11 October were banned on public order grounds.¹ Despite the bans, the protests went ahead. On 13 November the National Security Council said that since 11 October, 11 people, including a gendarme, had died in the context of the protests and 1,658 people were arrested. More than 80 of those arrested were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, most of them for “disturbing public order”.

On 17 October, a ministerial decree suspended for two months all public events or meetings organized by political parties, except those held by the five officially selected presidential candidates.

Arbitrary arrests and detentions

At the beginning of April, authorities clamped down on education-sector protests. Ten teachers were detained during a 48-hour strike. Ghislain Duggary Assy, communications secretary of a teachers’ union, was arrested at his home and questioned about the strike without his lawyer. On 8 April he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment on charges including obstructing public services.² He was provisionally released on 7 May. The Abidjan Court of Appeal upheld his conviction and sentence on 16 July, without issuing a committal order.

Repression of dissent

Between June and September, authorities carried out a wave of arrests targeting opposition supporters. Their fair trial rights, including prompt access to legal counsel, were reportedly violated. According to party representatives, between 8 and 9 July, three PDCI-RDA youth leaders were taken into custody in Abidjan. In August, six PPA-CI members were arrested following unrest in Yopougon.

On 1 September, cyber activist Ibrahim Zigui was arrested. His family had no knowledge of his whereabouts until his lawyer obtained access to him at Abidjan’s MACA prison on 6 September.

Women’s and girls’ rights

In March hundreds of women marched in Abidjan to denounce the rise in gender-based violence, including femicide. They called for stronger law enforcement against perpetrators, among other things. US government funding cuts undermined the provision of services to protect women and sexual minorities from such violence, exacerbating the situation.

In June, the Ministry of Women said that 9,607 gender-based violence incidents were recorded in 2024, with 32,428 survivors receiving government assistance. However, access to justice remained limited for several reasons, including the requirement by some police officers for survivors to pay for medical certificates before filing complaints, which was not a legal requirement.

Right to health

A cholera outbreak was declared in June following reports of seven deaths and 45 related cases in Vridi-Akobrakré. By the end of September, authorities and UNICEF said that the outbreak had spread to Yopougon-Est, Jacqueville, Fresco and Sassandra with the death toll reaching 21 and the number of cases rising to about 550 (with a case-fatality rate of 3.8%). The National Institute of Public Hygiene intensified monitoring, treatment and risk-communication measures, and the WHO provided cholera kits to reinforce community oral-rehydration points and case management.

Forced evictions

More than a year after authorities suspended forced eviction operations affecting tens of thousands of residents in districts of Abidjan, many of those affected were yet to receive adequate compensation. Among them were 133 farmers, their families and employees whose livelihoods were destroyed in the Gesco Rivière site.³

1. “Côte d’Ivoire: The authorities must stop stifling peaceful protests ahead of presidential election”, 16 October ↩︎
2. “Côte d’Ivoire: A unionist sentenced to two years imprisonment must be released and the right to strike guaranteed for everyone in the country”, 10 April ↩︎
3. “Côte d’Ivoire: One year on: Evicted Gesco Rivière farmers must be compensated for devastating loss of livelihoods”, 21 February ↩︎