Ivory Coast marks 65th independence anniversary with military parade
Just a week after the Ivorian president announced his intention to run for a controversial fourth term this October, supporters and members of his administration gathered in the central city of Bouaké to mark the country’s 65th independence anniversary with a military parade.
President Alassane Ouattara appeared in a military vehicle at the start of the parade, which was largely off-limits to the public.
French, American, and Moroccan military personnel participated in the event, signaling the Ivory Coast's continued military cooperation with Western powers at a time when much of West Africa is moving in the opposite direction.
Ivory Coast gained independence from France in 1960. But today the country is one of France's last remaining allies in French-speaking West Africa. A series of coups in the Sahel led to France's expulsion from Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.
France completed its withdrawal from Senegal last month, ending its permanent military presence in West Africa.
Though France also closed its last base in the Ivory Coast in February, Ouattara has long been seen as a close ally of Paris and has been accused by Sahelian leaders of being an outright enemy of their countries.
His candidacy was contested after he changed the constitution in 2016 to remove the presidential term limit.
The 83-year-old won a third term in 2020 after he initially said that he wasn't going to run again. However, he changed his position following the death of his handpicked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly.
His most prominent rival, Tidjane Thiam, has already been barred from running by a court because he was still a French citizen at the time he declared his candidacy, even though he later renounced his French nationality. Ivorian law bans dual nationals from running for president.
Supporters of Thiam were due to march last Saturday in Abidjan, but cancelled after meeting with local authorities. The march has been rescheduled for this Saturday.
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