Former rebel leader and former Ivorian prime minister Guillaume Soro, presidential candidate on October 31 despite his exile in France, asks in an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron to comment on the situation, citing a "deafening silence" . “We are millions and millions. We strained our ears. We have only heard the silence of France, dear homeland of human rights. A deafening silence , ” writes Guillaume Soro in his letter published by the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche on its website on Wednesday.
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"The country is caught in a whirlwind which knocks down fundamental freedoms (...) No democrat in the world can resign himself to this crime committed before our eyes", he wrote, referring to "the militias of power which attack now the peaceful demonstrators with clubs and machetes under the complicit eyes of the police ”. The announcement of President Alassane Ouattara's candidacy on August 6 for a controversial third term was followed by ethnic violence that left at least 8 dead, without it being possible to clearly establish responsibilities.
First elected in 2010 and reelected in 2015, the head of state, 78, announced in March his intention not to run for the presidential election on October 31 and to hand over to his Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly . But he died suddenly on July 8 from a heart attack. The Constitution limits presidential terms to two. But, supporters of Alassane Ouattara claim that the change of the Constitution in 2016 reset the mandate counter to zero, while his opponents deem a third candidacy unconstitutional. "When Alassane Ouattara, under pressure, made a thunderous announcement indicating that he would not seek a third term, (...) you thought you had to congratulate him by welcoming + his historic decision" , writes Guillaume Soro.
"I imagine that you are informed of Alassane Ouattara's turnaround (...) By expressing yourself for the first time, you are now a stakeholder in the Ivorian political debate, your silence in the face of the forfeiture that is emerging would be incomprehensible and totally misunderstood. Worse, in the eyes of many, it would be worth complicity, ” he continues. Guillaume Soro, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for concealment of embezzlement of public funds, lives in exile in France from where he announced his candidacy. He was struck off the electoral roll last week because of the conviction. Long ally of President Alassane Ouattara, whom he helped militarily to gain power during the post-electoral crisis of 2010-11, he became prime minister, then president of the National Assembly, before breaking with the leader of the 'State in early 2019. The situation is tense in Côte d'Ivoire as the presidential election approaches, 10 years after the post-electoral crisis which left 3,000 dead after President Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to recognize Alassane Ouattara's victory .
