Côte d'Ivoire
Ivorian opposition leader cleared for candidature

afrol News, 30 June - After having been controversially barred from two elections in 2000, Ivorian opposition leader Alassane Ouattara finally has been certified as a citizen of Côte d'Ivoire. It is hoped that this move might calm the increasing political tensions in the country.

Ouattara, leader of Côte d'Ivoire's main opposition party, Republican Rally (RDR), was declared an Ivorian citizen by a local court yesterday. Despite a recommendation by a reconciliation committee last year to grant nationality to Ouattara, President Laurent Gbagbo's only one month ago announced Ouattara would need to have his case tried in court. Since that, reconciliation has been reversed and political tension has again been rising in Côte d'Ivoire, culminating in clashes that provoked six deaths in Daloa last week.

Ouattara previously had been Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire, but in 2000, the military regime of General Robert Guei alleged his nationality certificate was a forgery, effectively barring the popular opposition leader from standing as presidential candidate. At this stage, several courts found they could prove Ouattara was Ivorian, thus denying him a citizen's certificate. The elections were won by civilian President Gbagbo, causing massive clashes and an estimated 300 deaths. 

A national reconciliation process was initiated late last year and managed to produce one year of political tranquillity and the return of international finance and donors. The reconciliation process has however been on ice since January and President Gbagbo has been increasingly unwilling to enter into discussions with the opposition. 

While Ouattara's nationality now seems to be cleared, it is still not certain that he will be able to challenge President Gbagbo in the next presidential elections (2005). Ouattara is still accused of having been a citizen of Burkina Faso, something that would disqualify him, according to the constitution. Ouattara denies ever having been Burkinabe, although he has headed the West Africa Central Bank representing Burkina Faso. 

Hundreds of RDR followers yesterday were celebrating the court's decision in the streets of Abidjan. Followers of President Gbagbo on the other hand demonstrated against the decision. No clashes between the two groups were reported. Ouattara expressed hope the decision could cause July local elections. 

The upcoming local elections are seen as a test whether political stability has returned to Côte d'Ivoire. There are concerns that the polarisation however might have gone too far already, as the political split increasingly is mirroring ethnical splits between the Muslim north (Ouattara's stronghold) and the south (Gbagbo's stronghold). 

The question over Ivorian citizenship to which Ouattara fell victim in 2000 is an integrated part of the country's north-south conflict. Many northerners are of mixed or Burkinabe/Malian descent, including a large part of the plantation economy's working force. The RDR sees the repeated government attempts to question the nationality of this large population group as an attack on its key voters. 

Last week's clashes in Daloa, killing six and destroying the town's market, were of a similar background. Locals, mostly loyal to the ruling party, are feeling outnumbered by Muslim northerners and foreign immigrants, mostly in support of the RDR. The government meanwhile has declared that the curfew in Daloa is to remain in place until 15 July. 

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