'If Jesus Christ stood, he’d still lose': Ivorian opposition cries foul over ‘foreign-stacked’ voter list
As tensions mount ahead of Côte d’Ivoire’s October 25 presidential election, opposition voices are decrying what they describe as a rigged electoral process designed to guarantee President Alassane Ouattara’s victory.
Opposition leaders claim the voter registry is tainted by thousands of ineligible names, including foreign nationals being added, even as key Ivorian opponents have been struck from the list. These tensions come amid a constitutional controversy over term limits and President Alassane Ouattara’s hold on power for over a decade.
In a Global South World interview, an Ivorian journalist shared fears over the integrity of the voter list, alleging that it includes thousands of foreign nationals, some of whom, he claims, are being used to swing the vote.
“If we go to the election with this electoral list, even if it is Jesus Christ, this president will win. Because he has put so many foreign people inside,” the journalist who spoke to Global South World on condition of anonymity. “There are some women inside who have 100 children. He will win. It is in his favour.”
“The real objective of the opposition is to make sure the election is not held on the 25th. Because if it is not held, from the 26th morning, he is no longer president,” the journalist added.
“Let us suppose the guy accepts that two principal opponents come on the list, no problem. There will be another problem. Because if the list is not cleaned, he will still win,” the journalist explained.
Côte d’Ivoire hosts a large immigrant population, and disputes over nationality and voter eligibility have long been volatile issues in its politics.
Conflicts in the 2000s were partly fueled by debates over who counted as “Ivorian”, a nationality issue now re-emerging and “raising concerns about the smooth running of the vote”
The final voter register lists 8.7 million people (in a country of 30 million, almost half under 18), yet authorities have ruled out any further revisions ahead of the election.
Critics say this refusal to audit the list despite reported irregularities undermines transparency. With the electoral commission insisting it’s independent and “respecting decisions of an independent judiciary,” the opposition remains sceptical
They argue that only a cleaned-up, credible voter list, free of unqualified or duplicate entries, can produce a legitimate outcome.
President Ouattara is seeking what opposition leaders describe as an unconstitutional fourth term, having already served since 2010.
“What is the most important? It is to check one by one, all people on the list, to see if they are Ivorian or not. The guy will refuse. Because if this list is cleared, he will never win – never, never, never,” the journalist added.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
