Crisis in Ivory Coast in 2010-2011

The crisis in Ivory Coast was initiated after the second round of the presidential election of 2010, the first in ten years when the two candidates, Laurent Gbagbo, president of the country since 2000, and Alassane Ouattara, the opposition candidate claimed victory.

Several foreign governments, organizations and world leaders recognized Ouattara as the real winner of elections. After months of attempted negotiations, the crisis has entered a decisive phase, with the intensification of clashes between forces loyal to Gbagbo and Ouattara favor of paramilitary groups, which he calls the Republican forces – a mix of former rebels in the insurrection of 2002, which divided the country into two, and former supporters of Gbagbo.

On November 28, 2010, the runoff election was held between President Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, former Prime Minister of the country (1990-1993).

On December 2, Youssouf Bakayoko, president of the Independent Electoral Commission announced the victory of Alassane Ouattara, with 54.1% of the votes against 45.9% given to Laurent Gbagbo, with a turnout of 81.09% of voters .

The announcement of the results has been postponed several times and it happened after the deadline. The press was surprised by the announcement at the Hôtel du Golf, which was under protection of UN forces. Bakayoko would have made the announcement at that hotel – Ouattara also chosen as the headquarters of the campaign – precisely because they have the protection of UN forces ..

The trigger of the crisis was mainly the fact that Laurent Gbagbo and some members of his cabinet not to conform to the election results, prompting the Constitutional Council to manipulate results in order to give victory to the incumbent president.

Paul Yao N’Dre, president of the Constitutional Council, close to President Gbagbo, said the Independent Electoral Commission had no authority to announce the results, because, since the deadline had been exceeded, the results were invalid.

According N’Dre after the deadline, only the Constitutional Council would be able to announce the results.

After the announcement of victory Outta Electoral Commission, the military closed the borders. 

On December 3, the Constitutional Council declared Gbagbo the winner. N’Dre announces the results of seven regions of the north was canceled. This reverses the results in favor of Gbagbo, who then proceeds to take 51.45% of the vote, while Ouattara replaced by 48.55%.

In March 2011 start direct fights between the rebels of Ouattara and government forces in major cities, resulting in about a thousand civilians dead in western Ivory Coast, and approximately 450,000 refugees, coming to fight to the streets of largest city, Abidjan in April 2011, with fighting and artillery fire around the presidential palace and state television.

The conflict in Ivory Coast has resulted in the displacement of nearly one million people, mostly from the west and the commune of Abobo. These people turn first to other areas of Ivory Coast, where there are 735,000 refugees, but also to Liberia, where there are 120,000 refugees and several other neighboring countries: Ghana, Guinea, Togo, Mali, Nigeria, Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso