Pascal Affi N’Guessan, former Prime Minister and leader of the opposition Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), has called for the immediate resignation of the President of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, and his entire team, citing a deepening crisis of legitimacy and credibility in the country’s electoral process.
Addressing the press on Thursday, Affi warned that the process intended to lead Ivory Coast toward peaceful, transparent, democratic, and credible elections in October 2025 is “in crisis—specifically a crisis of legitimacy, credibility, and trust.”
He declared that “all members of the CEI must accept the consequences and step down.”
This crisis, according to Affi, has been underscored by the recent withdrawal of representatives from the PPA-CI—founded by former President Laurent Gbagbo—and the PDCI-RDA from participation in the CEI.
These moves, he said, highlight the growing distrust in the institution’s leadership.
“The FPI can no longer work with Mr. Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, the President of the CEI, because he refuses to explain how six million unidentified Ivorians were irregularly registered,” Affi stated.
“For these irregularities, we believe the current CEI, led by Kuibiert, has failed. As a result, Mr. Kuibiert and all members of the CEI must resign so a new commission can be formed,” he added.
Affi affirmed that his party will pursue all democratic means necessary to ensure the establishment of a new electoral commission, arguing that the existing one has “completely lost their trust and has proven incapable of fulfilling its responsibilities for the collective good.”
He reiterated that the CEI leadership must resign, asserting, “This team has demonstrated its incompetence and cannot organize transparent and credible elections.”
Affi also criticized Kuibiert’s recent remarks made during a meeting with religious leaders.
“Lies and the demonization of others will not prevail because God knows us all, and God understands the motivations behind political opposition,” he said.
He emphasized that democratic progress in the country has been driven largely by the efforts of the political opposition, and that it was through their struggle that the Independent Electoral Commission was created in the first place.
According to Affi, the CEI president has taken on a “combative stance against the political opposition” and is actively working to “destroy the opposition, prolong the RHDP’s dominance, and ensure the opposition has no chance of coming to power.”
Calling for broad civil mobilization, Affi urged Ivorians to “free the country from dictatorship” and end what he described as “the rule of a single clan.”
He stressed that the only way forward lies in “organizing transparent elections and undertaking a thorough reform of the CEI.”
Source: apanews
