As Ouattara begins second term

Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara yesterday was sworn in for a second five-year term after he was re-elected in the poll which was seen as key to cementing the nation’s bid to overcome a history of electoral violence. The 73-year old successfully secured his second term bid with 84 percent of ballots in the October 25 […]

Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara yesterday was sworn in for a second five-year term after he was re-elected in the poll which was seen as key to cementing the nation’s bid to overcome a history of electoral violence.
The 73-year old successfully secured his second term bid with 84 percent of ballots in the October 25 election when more than half of the voters turned out despite calls for a boycott by some opposition candidates.
His main challenger, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, an ally of Mr Laurent Gbagbo, got 9%. Several other candidates withdrew from the poll, citing irregularities.
However, foreign election observers, including United States and ECOWAS adjudged the election free and fair. The ECOWAS Election Observation Mission said the election was transparent and organised in an “acceptable manner.”
The mission, in a statement by its long-term observer, General Francis Béhanzin, said ECOWAS recalled the importance of the election for the consolidation of democratic governance in Côte d’Ivoire as well as for national reconciliation and unity.
Mr Ouattara last victory was rejected by Mr Gbagbo who refused to step down, sparkling five-month unrest which claimed about 3,000 lives.
Ouattara, after taking the oath of office, said: “Only lasting peace, strong institutions and Ivorians who place national interest above all else will allow our country to irreversibly join the ranks of the great democracies and developed nations.”
The former high-flying economist pledged to ensure that more of his compatriots reap the benefits of the country’s post-war economic revival. The peaceful October 25 vote was a boost for Ivory Coast’s democratic credentials and offered crucial reassurance of the country’s stability to investors who have flooded into the world’s top cocoa grower as its economy has taken off, Reuters reports.
Ouattara’s re-election bid was buoyed by an economy that has grown by around 9 percent over the last four years, making Ivory Coast one of the top performers in Africa as other countries have been hobbled by a global commodities crash.
“We must accelerate the distribution of the fruits of growth, especially for our society’s most disadvantaged,” he said, adding that he would push for more processing of agricultural products to create jobs for Ivorian youth.
All six of his election rivals, according to Reuters, were present at a swearing-in ceremony at the presidential palace in the commercial capital Abidjan that was also attended by Senegal’s President Macky Sall and President Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin.