Overview

• The Constitutional Council definitively excluded Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam after finding both off the voter roll, citing a past conviction for Gbagbo and nationality status for Thiam.
• Council president Chantal Nanaba Camara said Gbagbo also failed to secure the required number of valid sponsorships.
• Only five candidacies were validated out of 60 submissions, including President Alassane Ouattara, with 55 applications rejected.
• Ouattara maintains his fourth-term bid complies with a 2020 Council ruling that reset term counts, while opposition figures denounce what they call a managed plebiscite.
• The approved challengers are Jean-Louis Billon, Ahoua Don Mello, Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, and Henriette Lagou, and the Council’s decision is not open to appeal.