Overview

• The Constitutional Council rejected Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, citing their removal from the electoral roll due to a past conviction and nationality questions, respectively.
• The court reaffirmed that eligibility requires being a registered voter, with its 2020 interpretation resetting presidential term counts used to validate Ouattara’s fourth-term bid.
• Five candidacies were validated: incumbent Alassane Ouattara, Jean‑Louis Billon, Ahoua Don Mello, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, and Henriette Lagou.
• Fifty‑five of the 60 applications were thrown out, including former prime minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan for insufficient valid sponsorships.
• Opposition figures condemned the rulings as undemocratic while the government pointed to independent judicial decisions, tensions remained high, and the ruling party is seeking a first‑round victory.