22 Elections in Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, elects on national level a head of state - the president - and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Assembly has 225 members, elected for a five-year term in single-seat constituencies. Côte d'Ivoire is a one party dominant state with the Ivorian People's Front in power. Opposition parties are allowed, but are widely considered to have no real chance of gaining power. Following a peace deal between the government and former rebels in March 2007, the next elections were planned for early 2008. These elections however, were postponed to November 2009 first, and then to early 2010.

Elections to the French National Assembly were held in the territory of Ivory Coast on 21 October 1945, with a second round on 4 November as part of the wider parliamentary elections. Voting was carried out using separate electoral colleges for citizens and non-citizens. François Reste de Roca and Félix Houphouët-Boigny were elected.

General Council elections were held in French Ivory Coast in December 1946 and 5 January 1947. The Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally won all 15 seats in the Second College in Ivory Coast, and 24 of the 30 Second College seats overall.

Elections to the French National Assembly was held in the territory of Ivory Coast on 2 June 1946 as part of the wider parliamentary elections. Voting was carried out using separate electoral colleges for citizens and non-citizens. André Schock and Félix Houphouët-Boigny were elected.

Elections to the French National Assembly was held in the territory of Ivory Coast on 10 November 1946 as part of the wider parliamentary elections. Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Zinda Kaboré and Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly were elected on the African Democratic Rally list.

Elections to the French National Assembly were held in Ivory Coast on 17 June 1951 as part of the wider parliamentary elections. The African Democratic Rally and French Union each won a single seat.

Territorial Assembly elections were held in French Ivory Coast on 30 March 1952. The result was a victory for the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally, which won 28 of the 50 seats.

Elections to the French National Assembly were held in Ivory Coast on 2 January 1956 as part of the wider parliamentary elections. The African Democratic Rally won both seats, which were taken by Félix Houphouët-Boigny and Daniel Ouezzin Coulibaly.

Territorial Assembly elections were held in French Ivory Coast on 31 March 1957. The result was a victory for the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PCDI–RDA), which won 58 of the 60 seats. The other two seats were won by PCDI–RDA dissidents.

Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 12 April 1959 as a prelude to independence the next year. The Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally was the only party to contest the election, thereby winning all 100 seats. Voter turnout was 94.7%.

General elections were held in Ivory Coast on 27 November 1960 to elect a President and National Assembly. Under the constitution enacted that year, the country was officially a one-party state with the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) as the sole legal party. Its leader, Félix Houphouët-Boigny, was automatically elected to a five-year term as president and unanimously confirmed in office via a referendum. A single list of PDCI-RDA candidates won all 70 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 95.9% in the parliamentary election and 98.8% in the presidential election.

General elections were held in Ivory Coast on 7 November 1965 to elect a President and National Assembly. At the time the country was a one-party state with the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) as the sole legal party. Its leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny was elected president unopposed, whilst the PDCI-RDA won all 85 seats in the National Assembly. Voter turnout was 99.6%.

General elections were held in Ivory Coast on 29 November 1970 to elect a President and National Assembly. At the time the country was a one-party state with the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) as the sole legal party. Its leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny was elected President unopposed, whilst in the National Assembly election, a list of 100 PDCI-RDA candidates for the 100 seats was presented to the electorate for approval. Voter turnout was reported to be 98.9% in the parliamentary election and 99.2% in the presidential election.

General elections were held in Ivory Coast on 16 November 1975 to elect a President and National Assembly. At the time the country was a one-party state with the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) as the sole legal party. Its leader Félix Houphouët-Boigny was elected President unopposed, whilst in the National Assembly election the PDCI-RDA won all 120 seats. Voter turnout was reported to be 99.3% in the parliamentary election and 99.8% in the presidential election.

Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 9 November 1980, with a second round on 23 November. At the time the country was a one-party state with the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) as the sole legal party. Unlike previous elections in which voters approved a single list of PDCI-RDA candidates, this election saw 649 PDCI-RDA candidates contest the 147 seats on a two-round absolute majority basis. 74 candidates were elected in the first round, with the remainder requiring a second round of voting. Only 27 of the incumbent MPs retained their seats. Voter turnout was just 42.6%.

Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 10 November 1985. At the time the country was a one-party state with the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA) as the sole legal party. 546 PDCI-RDA candidates contested the 175 seats. Voter turnout was reported to be just 45.7%.

Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 25 November 1990, the first since the restoration of multi-party democracy earlier in the year. Although 17 of the 25 legalised parties ran in the election, nearly half of the 490 candidates were from the former sole legal party, the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI). The PDCI won a landslide victory, taking 163 of 175 seats on 71.7 percent of the vote. Only two other parties got into the legislature, winning just 12 seats between them. Voter turnout was reported to be around 40%.

Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 26 November 1995. Ten parties and a number of independents contested the election, with the Rally of the Republicans and the Ivorian Popular Front running under the Republican Front banner. The result was a victory for the ruling Democratic Party of Ivory Coast – African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RDA), which won 148 of the 175 seats.

Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 10 December 2000. In 28 seats in the north of the country voting was postponed due to unrest relating to the boycott by the Rally of the Republicans. Although the RDR continued to call for a boycott, 26 seats were eventually elected on 14 January 2001, although turnout was only 13 percent and the two seats for Kong were left vacant.

Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 11 December 2011, after the presidential elections in late 2010. They followed a peace agreement between the government and the New Forces that was signed in March 2007. The Rally of the Republicans, the party of President Alassane Ouattara, won just under half the seats in the National Assembly.

Parliamentary elections were held in Ivory Coast on 18 December 2016. The new constitution, which was approved in a referendum in October, reduced the term for the 255 members of the National Assembly from five to four years.

The 2018 Ivorian senatorial election will be the first senatorial election in Ivory Coast and will be held on 24 March 2018.