In the Pont school, in Treichville, a district of the Ivorian economic capital Abidjan, Ismaël has already prepared his vote count on the board.
Four beautiful columns, one for each of the candidates in the presidential election which was held this Saturday in Côte d'Ivoire.
Outgoing President Alassane Ouattara is running as a favorite for a third term, a candidacy that the opposition rejects calling it a “
constitutional coup
”.
The two main rivals, former president Henri Konan Bédié and Pascal Affi N'Guessan therefore launched a boycott slogan, without however withdrawing from the race.
Read also: The keys to understanding the election under pressure in Côte d'Ivoire
Ismaël, president of a polling station, does not intend to get involved in these quarrels.
"
The main thing is that it happened without violence and in peace
".
He's about to strip, and the task should be quick.
Here, the voters did not rush.
There are only 72 voters out of 430 registered.
The neighboring office is doing a little better with 170 voters.
A difference that does not surprise many people.
"
It is because of the electoral list which is in alphabetical order
", explains Damien, the person in charge of the site.
In Ivory Coast, where the parties are powerfully community-based and surnames are also very marked, voters from the north, often favorable to Alassane Ouattara, find themselves grouped together, like those from the south and the center, close to the opposition .
This fracture sometimes extends to entire neighborhoods.
In front of the modern high school of Yopougon, Yacouba Cissé therefore beats the recall.
“
You have to go and vote for Ouattara.
He is the best president possible.
He has built roads, bridges, restarted the economy,
”he says, faithfully taking up the campaign themes of his champion.
Read also: Côte d'Ivoire: three leaders for a single presidential chair
In the courtyard of the establishment, we line up wisely and in numbers to, like Aniassata, "
do your duty
".
In a corner, five big arms are watching.
Yopougon is almost everywhere else a stronghold of loyal opposition.
A few hundred meters away, the Lycée William Pointy, a large voting center, is almost deserted.
At noon, a polling station had seen only one voter out of the 430 or so expected.
The neighboring classroom had only received three people.
In the very chic district of Cocody, at the Saint-François-Xavier high school, the score will be even lower.
He just didn't open.
Barricades, made of old tires and a wreckage of a burnt car, block access.
In front, a handful of young people, some masked, filter the passage.
They swear they have nothing to do with “
this dam
”.
"
It was God who put it there,
" they laugh.
Donatien and Albert assure that "
it is only justice
".
“
This vote is illegal.
We had to discuss first, respect the constitution and not insist on having another mandate
, ”he said, this time repeating the mantra of former president Laurent Gbagbo.
Ivorian riot police use tear gas to disperse opposition supporters in Blockhauss, Abidjan, October 31, 2020, during the presidential election in Côte d'Ivoire.
ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP
"The opposition has failed"
All over the country this division is displayed.
Some towns voted little or not at all, such as Gagnoa, the city of Gbagbo, Daoukro, the “
village
” of Bédié or Bonoua, while wild roadblocks grew on the roads.
The north has mobilized.
Saturday, it was still difficult to have a precise picture of the course of the day.
“
It went well overall.
The opposition has failed,
”the presidential party was assured.
Pascal Affi N'Guessan, hammered at midday that "
90% of the offices had remained closed in the east of the country
", announcing without surprise that "
whatever the result, it would not concern us
".
A result almost already known.
In this context, Alassane Ouattara's victory leaves little doubt.
It is participation that remains the main issue.
“
The president aims for a participation at least equivalent to that of the previous election in 2015 (52%: Editor's note).
If it does significantly less, that would weaken it and make it even more difficult in the months to come,
”analyzes a diplomat.