Is Ivory Coast a democracy?

Is Ivory Coast a democracy?

Ivory Coast is officially a multiparty democracy. Its President, Alassane Ouattara, has been in power since April 2011. Ouattara’s refusal to concede defeat in November 2010 election, followed a bloody and brief civil war opposing Ouattara’s Northern rebels backed by French Special Forces to soldiers in the South loyal to President Gbagbo. As many as 10,000 civilians were killed in Ouattara’s standoff.

Ouattara’s regime has since seen the opposition and the civil society as anti-progress and enemies of development.  As an Ivorian blogger points out in one of his publications, Amadou Soumahoro, the leader of the RDR (Ouattara's party) had unequivocally warned journalists and opposition actors on several occasions that whoever criticizes the policy of President Ouattara is flirting with death. Ouattara's regime confirmed Soumahoro's doctrine by killing Désiré Oué, chief editor of Tomorrow Magazine, before confiscating his computer and some important documents. The journalist's wife and colleagues, as reported by the blogger, are deeply convinced that Oué was targeted for his articles against Ouattara's dictatorship. 

300 activists including influential opposition militants from the Ivorian Popular Front ( FPI ), identified by Ouattara's government as the most critics of Ouattara's culture of corruption and impunity, and questioned the reality of democracy in Ivory Coast, were arrested and are currently detained in torture centers."The arrest and arbitrary detention of the prominent figures of the main opposition party ( FPI ) five months before the presidential election, send a worrying signal" denounced Amnesty International.  "I am pessimistic and amazed by the attitude of France and the United States who ensure that everything is settled in IvoryCoast" said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. 

Ouattara's regime often carries out these political motivated arrests and torture in order to intimidate the opposition. Since President Ouattara came to power through the barrel of a gun in April 2011, he cannot accept being criticized for his flawed politics. "Ouattara has both feet in the multi-party derision and head into the authoritarian era. He has a phobia of a fair and independent election" said Kouadio Konan Bertin ( KKB ), a legislator of RHDP, a coalition of political parties including Ouattara's party ( RDR ) . "We cannot expect loyalty to an unjust regime. Democracy under President Ouattara is simply a mirage" he complained.

Alain Werner, a Swiss lawyer who investigated cases of rapes in Ivory Coast , said heinous acts of sexual violence are taking place  after the country's recent conflict, but identified a lack of "impartial willingness from the Ivorian [government] to try or investigate these crimes". In Ivory Coast, he said , the chances of getting the cases of rape by Ouattara's soldiers to court are slim, even with documented evidence. "Rather than create an army likely to respect the rule of law, Ouattara has promoted commanders who were in command when atrocities took place and should be investigated, not rewarded”,  said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. Adou Gnapi, the police captain, when asked why women frequently suffer sexual violence, answered. "It's complicated," he said. "Nowadays women look too good."