Ivorian presidential election, 2010

Ivorian presidential election, 2010

2000 ← 31 October and 28 November 2010 → 2015

Nominee Alassane Ouattara Laurent Gbagbo Party RDR FPI Popular vote 1,481,091 (1st round; CC) 1,938,672 (2nd round; CC) 2,483,164 (2nd round; IEC) 1,756,504 (1st round; CC) 2,054,537 (2nd round; CC) 2,107,055 (2nd round; IEC) Percentage 32.07% (1st round; CC) 48.55% (2nd round; CC) 54.1% (2nd round; IEC) 38.04% (1st round; CC) 51.45% (2nd round; CC) 45.9% (2nd round; IEC)

President before election Laurent Gbagbo FPI Elected President Contested, eventually Alassane Ouattara RDR

Laurent Gbagbo
FPI

Contested, eventually
Alassane Ouattara
RDR

A presidential election was held in two rounds in Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire). The first round was held on 31 October 2010 and a second round, in which President Laurent Gbagbo faced opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, was held on 28 November 2010. Originally scheduled to be held in 2005, the vote was delayed several times due to the Ivorian Civil War and difficulties involved in the organization and preparation of the election. A peace agreement between the government and the former rebel New Forces was signed on 4 March 2007, and in late April 2009, it was announced that the election would be held by 6 December 2009, and that the date would be announced shortly. On 15 May 2009, the date was announced to be 29 November 2009. On 11 November, the election was postponed again due to delays in the electoral roll. It was announced on 3 December 2009 to be held in late February or early March 2010.

The election, in which ethnicity and the country's north-south divide played a crucial role, ultimately pitted President Gbagbo, who had a strong support base in the south, against the long-time opposition leader and former Prime Minister Ouattara, who had overwhelming support in much of the north. The events leading up to the second round and following it were characterized by serious tension and some incidents of violence, and the preliminary report of the Carter Center "cautions against a rush to judgment regarding the overall credibility of the election", but most observers considered that the overall result was not compromised, and that the election was essentially free and fair. On 2 December 2010, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) released provisional results showing that Ouattara had won the election in the second round with 54% of the vote. However the President of the Constitutional Council immediately declared that the results were invalid and the next day, in accordance with article 94 of the Constitution, the Constitutional Council declared Gbagbo the winner. Both Gbagbo and Ouattara claimed victory and took the presidential oath of office. The ensuing events led to the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis.

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