A few days before the first round of the presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire, the European Union “deplores the serious violence of recent days and expresses its concern at the lack of consensus surrounding the electoral process”, stressed the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, on Friday 23 October.
“The EU once again calls on the political actors to speed up dialogue on points of disagreement and urges the various political and activist groups to explicitly reject any use of violence and threats”, highlights the statement it issued on behalf of the EU27.
The EU “is particularly concerned about attempts to prevent citizens from being able to exercise their right to vote”, the High Representative specified.
Finally, the EU calls on “the institutions responsible for the elections to make every effort to hold transparent and credible elections, the results of which will reflect the vote of the Ivorian people”.
According to the Ivorian opposition, which is contesting Allassane Ouattara’s candidacy for a third term, the violence of 23 October reportedly left 50 people dead and others wounded. This violence raises fears of a repeat of the post-election crisis that shook the country ten years earlier. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)