Ivory Coast Votes Again, But Old Divisions Still Decide the Outcome

Vote counting is underway in Ivory Coast following legislative elections to select 255 members of the National Assembly, in a political environment still shaped by unresolved tensions from the recent presidential poll.

The parliamentary vote comes just two months after President Alassane Ouattara secured a second term with more than 90 percent of the vote, a landslide result that was strongly disputed by opposition groups. Several high‑profile opposition figures were excluded from the presidential race following court rulings, a decision that continues to cast a shadow over the broader electoral process.

Those divisions carried directly into the legislative elections. The African Peoples’ Party, linked to former president Laurent Gbagbo, boycotted the vote, arguing that conditions were not in place for a credible and inclusive contest. The absence of a major opposition force leaves questions not about who will win, but about how representative the final parliament will be.

More than 2,700 candidates contested the elections, including nearly 800 independents. President Ouattara’s ruling Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace emerged as the dominant force, having fielded candidates in every constituency nationwide. With control of the outgoing assembly already firmly in hand, the party is positioned to extend its parliamentary majority.

Civil society groups say the elections will test whether political legitimacy can be rebuilt beyond procedural voting. Koné Mamadou of the NGO Action Justice described the process as a measure of real national support, both for the ruling party and for an opposition fragmented by exclusion and boycott.

Attention has also turned to the emergence of ADCI, a party founded in 2024 and positioning itself as a potential third political force. With 45 candidates, many of them young, the party is seeking enough seats to form a parliamentary group and influence debates in the next assembly, signaling quiet pressure from a generation impatient with recycled political battles.

Final results are expected between December 28 and December 30, 2025. What they will not immediately resolve is the deeper issue facing Ivory Coast: elections can produce numbers, but legitimacy is built when participation is broad, competition is open, and power feels earned rather than managed.

Ivory Coast is still a young democracy navigating the long aftermath of political crises. The institutions are maturing, the population is watching closely, and the next chapter will be written not just by who wins seats, but by whether the system learns to include rather than exclude. Africa’s story has never been about speed, but about direction, and the momentum for more accountable governance remains very much alive.

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