The election of the President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire held on Saturday October 31, 2020 was “free and democratic”, the African Parliament of Civil Society (PASOCI) which dispatched an observation mission of 140 people across the country, said Monday in an provisional report.
“The PASOCI mission noted that the October 31, 2020 poll was peaceful, serene, fair and transparent. It therefore declares that the election was free and democratic,” Sandrine Therese Bekono, the spokesperson for this organization told a press briefing.
She went on to stress that the observation mission, which visited 723 polling stations throughout the country, noted incidents including the impediments to voting in several towns.
“The mission noted the opening of the polling stations almost on schedule,” Ms. Bekono added, congratulating the Ivorian people for their “democratic maturity”.
She concluded by assuring that her organization, which continues to observe the electoral process, will issue a more detailed report after the proclamation of the final results of this election.
The election of the President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire held on Saturday was marred by incidents in several Ivorian localities.
The Ivorian opposition, which called for an active boycott of this election, denounced what it called an election parody and urged the establishment of a civil transition. For its part, the government hailed the smooth conduct of this election, despite incidents that it describes as marginal.
LB/ls/fss/abj/APA