The President of the PDCI (opposition), Tidjane Thiam, says he is “absolutely determined to run for president” and to be elected to the highest office as the polls gave him a clear lead over Alassane Ouattara.
The Abidjan Court of First Instance ruled on Tuesday, April 22, 2025, to remove PDCI president Tidjane Thiam, former CEO of Credit Suisse, from the electoral roll, on the grounds that he has lost his Ivorian nationality.
“In fact, what is happening is that the government has just eliminated, through unfair and incomprehensible legal reasoning, its most serious rival (in the presidential election of October 25, 2025), as the polls show,” Tidjane Thiam said in a video.
“This is not normal and it is not the image I want our country to project of itself. I will not accept this aggression because it is unjust, unjustified, and incomprehensible. Rest assured that I am absolutely determined to be the candidate for the presidency of the Republic,” he said.
Addressing his supporters, he declared, “I tell you tonight that the ability of Ivorians to freely choose, without fear, who will lead is a matter of dignity. You can count on me to lead this fight.”
“I have no doubt that at the end of this fight, you will carry me, through your votes, democratically and freely, to the presidency of the Republic,” he continued, stating that he had commissioned a poll with a world-renowned organization to determine the state of public opinion today, six months before the presidential election.
According to Tidjane Thiam, the results of this opinion poll are available and show him “leading the poll by a wide margin, with a very positive result, ahead of (former Ivorian President Laurent) Gbagbo, who is second.”
“We will release all these results,” he promised, stating that in the second round of the presidential election, Ivorians will elect him with “57 per cent of the votes against 41 per cent for Alassanem Ouattara, a difference of more than 15 per cent.”
Tidjane Thiam obtained French nationality in 1987. After his revocation of French nationality, which was confirmed on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, the PDCI president faces another front to acquire Ivorian nationality, a condition of eligibility for the presidential election in Côte d’Ivoire.
Politicians contesting his nationality have taken legal action, relying on Article 48 of the Ivorian Nationality Code, dated December 14, 1961.
According to the statement, “any adult Ivorian who voluntarily acquires a foreign nationality, or who declares recognition of such nationality, loses his or her Ivorian nationality.”
“For a period of 15 years, from the date of registration on the census rolls, the loss is subject to government authorization by decree issued on the report of the Keeper of the Seals, Minister of Justice, and after consulting the Minister of Health and Defense,” the statement said.
Article 55 of the Ivorian Constitution stipulates that all presidential candidates must be exclusively Ivorian and not hold a foreign passport. Tidjane Thiam’s removal from the electoral list comes at a time when he has been designated as his party’s presidential candidate.
AP/Sf/fss/gik/APA