Presidential Election, 25 October 2025

On 25 October 2025, Cote D’Ivoire held a presidential election to elect the head of state for a five-year term. According to official provisional results, incumbent President Alassane Ouattara secured a fourth term by receiving about 89.8 per cent of the vote (Chibelushi and Naadi 2025).

The president is elected through a two-round plurality vote system (if no candidate receives an absolute majority vote in the first round). The electoral process of the country is governed by the Electoral Code 2020 (Miango 2025) and administered by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) (Palix 2025). The CEI has eight members appointed by the head of State upon proposals from various stakeholders, and is supported by Local Commissions (Miango 2025).

During the 2025 election, two leading candidates from the two major parties—Tidjane Thiam from the Democratic Party of Cote d’Ivoire-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA); and Laurent Gbagbo of the Parti des Peuples Africanis – Cote d’Ivoire (PPA-CI)—were disqualified. Raising concerns about the integrity of the election (Jammeh 2025), this left only four opposition candidates in the race (Melly 2025). Protests against these two exclusions in early October led to hundreds of arrests and reports of unexplained kidnappings (Sasipornkarn 2025). Earlier in the electoral cycle, the Constitutional Council had cleared only five out of 60 nominated candidates to contest the election (Miango 2025).

Various observers including the Economic Community of West African States-African Union (ECOWAS-AU) reported that the election was peaceful—while noting protests in response to the exclusion of opponents and election boycotts, among other incidents (Lomax S., 2025). As observed by the La Maison de la société civile du Centre (CRASC Center), electoral officers were equipped with essential equipment and were able to manage the voting in a professional manner. However, late openings and limited accessibility were also reported (AHEAD 2025). The Ivorian Human Rights Commission reported six deaths related to the election (Sasipornkarn 2025).

The pre-electoral period was marked by concerns regarding misinformation and restriction affecting civic space. Reports highlighted instances of alleged government pressure on cyber-activists and opposition voices, as well as the circulation of false claims regarding ill health and death of the incumbent president (Akwei et al. 2025; Africa Briefing 2025). 

Women’s representation among electoral workers was low. A report by the CEI indicated that about three per cent of the polling stations were staffed by three or more women, 28 per cent were staffed by two women, while 48 per cent had no female staff. 88 per cent of stations were headed by men (AHEAD Africa 2025). There were two female candidates; namely Simone Ehivet Gbagbo (the former First Lady) and Henriette Lagou Adjoua (the former Minister of Social Affairs and Women’s Rights)(Kwabena Boadu 2025).

Nearly nine million citizens—including members of the diaspora—were eligible to vote. Voter registration increased modestly compared to previous elections (by about 8.92 per cent) but remained substantially below the pool of eligible voters (IRI 2025). Turnout reached only about 50 per cent, a marked decline from the roughly 80 per cent turnout recorded in the 2000, 2010, and 2015 elections. Analysts attribute this to reduced electoral competitiveness as well as opposition figures urging a boycott (Grand Pinnacle Tribune 2025). Arrests and prison convictions handed down in 2024, relating to both digital and offline dissent, formed part of the backdrop to the contest (Paradigm Initiative 2025).

Innovations

While there were no specific electoral law reforms in 2025, President Ouattara justified his third and fourth term bids in 2020 and 2025 based on constitutional reforms of 2016, arguing that the adoption of a new Constitution reset the presidential term count (allowing him to seek what he considers a first and second term). Opposition parties contend that the Constitution limits the presidency to two five-year terms in total and view his continued candidacies as unconstitutional (van Baalen and Bjarnesen 2025).