As the 25 October presidential election nears, the campaign of opposition candidate Jean-Louis Billon intensified its efforts in La Mé, where deputy national campaign director Valérie Yapo urged citizens to demand a decisive change in leadership.
Speaking to a packed crowd in the village of Agbaou, Akoupé department, on Sunday, 12 October, Yapo challenged the population to reject what she described as a cycle of failed promises and entrenched power.
“Are we going to continue to be satisfied with empty promises? Are we going to continue to accept arrogance, injustice, favoritism, the confiscation of power? Are we going to continue to vote for those who have already had 15 years to act and who today are asking for five more years, even too many?” she asked, drawing applause from villagers, traditional leaders, and youth gathered at the rally.
Framing the moment as a pivotal juncture in Ivory Coast’s democratic journey, Yapo declared, “This is a critical time, because our country must choose between the continuation of broken promises and the renewal embodied by Jean-Louis Billon.”
She strongly criticised the current administration, questioning economic progress under President Alassane Ouattara’s leadership. “Are you living better today? Are your children finding work?” she asked the audience, casting doubt on official growth figures.
Yapo positioned Jean-Louis Billon, candidate of the Democratic Congress (CODE), as a transformative figure, stating he is “free, without chains, without political debt,” and committed to a platform anchored in economic sovereignty under the banner “Ivorians first.”
“Billon is not about empty promises, but about action and vision,” she insisted, calling for a strong voter turnout in La Mé to “write a new page in the history of Côte d’Ivoire.”
She emphasized that the election is not only about leadership, but about redefining governance as a “contract of trust between a people and the person they choose to serve.”
Jean-Louis Billon is one of five candidates contesting the presidency, running against incumbent Alassane Ouattara, Ahoua Don Mello, Simone Gbagbo, and Henriette Lagou. The CODE campaign continues to present itself as the voice of peaceful and progressive transition in a nation poised for political renewal.
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