Statement on the announcement of Mr. Alassane Ouattara’s candidacy for an illegal fourth presidential term.
This Wednesday, July 29, 2025, Mr. Alassane Ouattara unsurprisingly announced his decision to seek an illegal fourth presidential term, once again trampling on the Ivorian Constitution and the most basic principles of democracy.
The pretense of suspense orchestrated in recent weeks fooled no one—least of all him. It was nothing more than a staged performance intended to prepare public opinion for a new violation of our Fundamental Law. After invoking, in 2020, a so-called “force majeure” to justify an unconstitutional third term, here he is again, five years later, using the same tired arguments: the security situation, economic challenges, and other imperatives of stability to justify the unjustifiable.
The truth is simple. And cruel. Alassane Ouattara, like any self-respecting dictator, refuses to relinquish power.
He is prepared to do anything to perpetuate his personal power, regardless of social peace, the country’s stability, and the safety of its citizens.
Today, the opposition is imprisoned, democracy is muzzled, and the electoral roll, completely rigged, heralds a perilous future.
Our country’s recent history is a reminder that repeated violations of the rules of democracy inevitably lead to major crises.
Under these conditions, the people of Côte d’Ivoire are faced with their historic responsibility: submit to a dictatorship that no longer hides its face, or rise up, in accordance with the law, to defend the Constitution, justice, and freedom.
This is what is at stake.
Signed by Guillaume Kigbafori Soro,
Former Prime Minister,
Former President of the National Assembly of Côte d’Ivoire and
President of Generations and Peoples in Solidarity (GPS)
@Grok’s Verification
Guillaume Kigbafori Soro, a former Ivorian Prime Minister and rebel leader who helped form the New Forces in 2002, critiques President Alassane Ouattara’s announced fourth term bid on July 29, 2025, as unconstitutional, citing a history of electoral violence including the 2010 crisis that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Soro’s statement reflects his ongoing political rivalry with Ouattara, exacerbated by his 2019 exile after an in-absentia conviction for security threats, and his past role in the 2007 peace deal that initially aligned him with Ouattara’s rise to power.
The post’s timing aligns with Côte d’Ivoire’s 2025 election preparations, where a 2016 constitutional limit of two terms is being challenged, a situation paralleled by only 10% of African leaders stepping down voluntarily per a 2021 Journal of Democracy study on democratic backsliding.
