Overview
- The electoral commission is set to complete departmental tallies by midday and proclaim the winner this afternoon, with Alassane Ouattara leading in every constituency.
- Preliminary returns show near-unanimous scores for Ouattara in many northern departments, often above 95% with near-full participation, contrasting with sparse voting in southern and western strongholds.
- The commission’s chief estimated turnout at roughly 50%, a figure contested by opposition figures who highlight largely empty polling stations in parts of Abidjan and the south.
- The Front commun coalition backing Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam rejects the process as illegitimate and demands a new vote, while candidate Jean‑Louis Billon congratulated Ouattara but warned about very low participation in some areas.
- Authorities deployed about 44,000 security personnel and reported incidents in roughly 2% of polling sites; official tallies indicate eight deaths tied to the electoral period, including clashes in Haut‑Sassandra and a 13‑year‑old killed in Gregbeu, with the opposition claiming a higher toll for election day.