ABIDJAN, Oct. 23, 2025 – Thousands of supporters joined final rallies in Abidjan and other major cities on Thursday, as Ivory Coast’s presidential campaign wrapped up days before Saturday’s election – a watershed vote that could extend the rule of President Alassane Ouattara for the fifteenth year or mark a new beginning for the continent’s foremost cocoa producer.
The day was charged with excitement and anxiety, reflecting the pending election – what many Ivorians see as a test of democratic maturity for a country still carrying the scars of previous turbulence. The electoral commission has confirmed that 8.7 million Ivorians will vote in the election and be counted at 33,000 polling stations.
Ouattara’s Last‑Minute Appeal
The drums, vuvuzelas and crowds filled the air in the center of Abidjan at the historic Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium, where 83-year-old President Ouattara had his campaign’s ending under the motto “For a Great Nation.”
Under constitutional changes made in 2016, Ouattara decided to run for a fourth term, and he called on citizens to choose “continuity and stability” over what he referred to as “empty populist promises.” In front of a sea of the ruling Rassemblement des Houphouëtistes pour la Démocratie et la Paix (RHDP) flags, the veteran leader promised more infrastructure investment and job creation, boasting highways, bridges, and the expanding metro in Abidjan as marks of progress.
“Ivory Coast is on the move,” Ouattara asserted. “We will not turn back the clock. We have to defend the peace we have built.”
Rivals Mobilize in the Regions
Regardless of Ouattara’s prominence, competitors Jean-Louis Billon, Simone Gbagbo and Henriette Lagou Adjoua concluded their campaigns with symbolic gatherings in their regional strongholds, attempting to rally the undecided voters.
In Bouaké, former commerce minister Billon, representing a center-right coalition, pledged to modernize the economy and grow private sector jobs. “Ivorians want a renewal,” he said. “We need to change generations.”
In Aboisso, close to the Ghanaian border, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo-era first lady and ex-wife of ousted president Laurent Gbagbo-drew a boisterous crowd of women and market vendors who attended a rally in support of her Movement of Capable Generations.
“Ivory Coast will rise again with women leading the way,” she said. “We have endured war. Now we must rebuild equity and opportunity.”
Her political comeback, after years of legal battles stemming from the 2010 post-election crisis, rejuvenated parts of the political opposition and introduced an important feminist current to a political contest usually dominated by men.
Henriette Lagou Adjoua, beyond the minister for women’s affairs, held a smaller but motivated rally in Yamoussoukro, where she promised to enforce the gender representation law and improve rural women’s access to credit. “We will not be ignored again,” she said.
A Restricted Opposition
Tidjane Thiam, the former CEO of Credit Suisse in London, and Laurent Gbagbo, the former president, are both missing from the 2025 election.
Both men were deemed ineligible, Thiam because he previously renounced Ivorian citizenship, and Gbagbo due to a criminal conviction related to election-related violence. Their disqualification has added to allegations that the political competition has been curtailed.
However, among the competitors are younger technocrats and grassroots activists who are prodding a generational transition. Ahoua Don Mello, an engineer connected to the banned PPA-CI party, has positioned as a voice of reconciliation. “We need an amnesty in general and free elections,” he said in a recent speech aired on television.
Lingering Fears of Turmoil
Campaign season in Ivory Coast is still spirited, but with an air of history. Ivory Coast, one of the punching bags of stability in the region, suffered chaos after the controversial 2010 presidential election, and again during protests surrounding Ouattara’s candidacy for a third term in 2020, which left at least 50 dead.
While this campaign season has been largely non-violent, small scuffles at local rallies and isolated acts of vandalism have unsettled many. Officials reported more than 700 arrests following protests last month against Ouattara’s candidacy.
Since then, security forces have been deployed heavily across Abidjan, Abengourou, and Bouaké. On Thursday, armored vehicles were seen outside opposition offices. Several shopkeepers closed early, fearful that celebrations could lead to riotous behavior.
Focus on Economy and Youth
For most Ivorians, daily economic realities eclipsed political drama. Even with stable GDP growth exceeding 7 percent , one of the highest rates in sub‑Saharan Africa ‑ unemployment among youth remains high and inflation eat away at purchasing power. Over 60 percent of the population are under age 25, making youth employment a key issue.
Ouattara pledged to hire 250,000 young Ivorians in public works and digital skills programs if re-elected and both Billon and Gbagbo called for tax cuts for small businesses and agriculture cooperatives.
“Ivory Coast is the largest producer of cocoa in Africa, and yet our farmers are paid very little,” said Ebo Koné, an agricultural organiser from Daloa. “However, the next president must reform or increase social tensions.”
International Observers Urge Calm
The African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have both sent observer missions to observe Saturday’s vote. Western embassies have made calls for the situation to calm down, given the importance of Ivory Coast to regional trade and the stability of francophone West Africa.
“Ivory Coast has come a long way since 2010,” said Mr. Amidou Traoré, head of the Abidjan-based think tank Political Horizons Africa. “As previously noted, democracy must be inclusive; and the credibility of this election is dependent upon who wins and how they win.”
Streets Quiet Before the Storm
When night descended on Abidjan’s lagoon-side neighborhoods, the noise of campaign caravans faded into an uneasy silence. Posters depicting Ouattara’s smiling face outnumbered those of his competitors, even as they were taped to minibus windows and bridges. Total silence filled the traffic between the rows of stalls in the market as chants of “ADO pour la victoire!” waned, as residents prepared for a weekend celebration.
As Ivorians prepare to go to the polls on Saturday, their hopes are for a peaceful ballot that can ensure prosperity without reopening the dark past. For the first time in a long time, the country stands balanced between the exhilaration of its democratic promise and the ghosts of its violent history.