Cote d'Ivoire: Further pro-Gbagbo protests scheduled in Abidjan on August 10 /update 1

Event

Activists plan to protest in Abidjan on Monday, August 10, against the exclusion of former President Laurent Gbagbo from the upcoming October presidential election. Protesters will gather at Place de la République and l'Assemblé Nationale from 17:00 (local time) on Monday and plan to block traffic on the city's three main bridges: Pont Houphouët-Boigny, Pont Général-de-Gaulle, and Pont Henri Konan Bédié. 

Demonstrators also gathered on Saturday, August 8, in Bonoua, blocking the road to Assinie-Mafia. Similarly, protesters burned tires and blocked the Adjamé-Yopougon junction in the Yopougon Bae area of Bangolo on Saturday.

A heightened security presence and localized traffic disruptions are anticipated in the vicinity of any protests.

Context

Political tension is building in Cote d'Ivoire ahead of the October 2020 election. Most of the unrest has revolved around the exclusion of Gbagbo and some of his allies from running in the election because of their criminal convictions. The electoral commission has said it will consider their appeals against their exclusions; however, protests were witnessed in Abidjan on Monday, August 3 over the issue, and further protests are likely in the capital and other major urban centers in the lead-up to the election.

Advice

Those in Abidjan and throughout Cote d'Ivoire are advised to keep abreast of the political situation, avoid all public demonstrations and election-related events as a precaution, avoid discussing sensitive political topics in public, and obey all instructions issued by the local authorities.