| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Assemblée nationale / National Assembly |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
11 December 2011 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all seats in the National Assembly. General elections had previously been held in December 2000. |
After being postponed numerous times since 2005, parliamentary elections were finally held in December 2011. They were the first to be held under the new President Alassane Ouattara. At stake were 255 seats in the National Assembly, up from 225.
Former Prime Minister Ouattara had called for a boycott of the previous parliamentary elections in December 2000, former Prime Minister Ouattara, having lost the presidential race two months earlier. The Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI)-African Democratic Rally (RDA) came in first with 98 seats, winning two more than President Laurent Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (FPI). The newly elected National Assembly elected Mr. Mamadou Koulibaly (FPI) as its new Speaker.
A 2002 coup attempt against President Gbagbo sparked civil unrest, splitting the country between the Muslim-majority north held by the 'New Forces' rebels and government-controlled south. The unrest came to an end in March 2007 with a United Nations-brokered peace agreement, based on which a new voters' roll was drawn up. New Forces leader Guillaume Soro was named as prime minister.
Both parliamentary and presidential elections were constitutionally due in 2005 but were successively postponed for various reasons, including the delay in finalizing the voters' roll. The parliamentary term was successively extended by presidential decrees.
In October 2010, the delayed presidential elections finally took place but no candidate won the required majority of votes in the first round. Run-off elections were held between incumbent President Gbagbo of the FPI and former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara of the Rally of Republicans (RDR).
On 2 December, the Election Commission declared Mr. Ouattara the winner. However, the Constitutional Court - reportedly headed by an ally of the President - invalidated the results for much of the northern part of the country, declaring victory for President Gbagbo. Both candidates thus claimed victory. On 4 December, President Gbagbo took the oath for a new term. A few hours later, Mr. Ouattara swore himself in as President. Both "Presidents" subsequently formed their own government.
Street protests between the supporters of both camps turned violent. The fighting resulted in over 3,000 deaths and over one million displaced persons. Parliamentary elections, which were due to be held within 50 days of the run-off presidential elections (by 17 January 2011), were postponed due to the violence.
By March 2011, pro-Ouattara forces controlled much of the country and subsequently surrounded Mr. Gbagbo and his supporters in the presidential compound in Abidjan. Following air strikes by UN forces in April, Mr. Gbagbo surrendered to pro-Ouattara forces. On 6 May, Mr. Ouattara was officially sworn in as President.
The post-election crisis severely affected the country's economy, which shrunk by 5.8 per cent in 2011. However, 8.5 per cent growth was expected for 2012.
In July 2011, Speaker Mamadou Koulibaly left the FPI and formed the Freedom and Democracy for the Republic (LIDER) party.
On 27 September, the Election Commission announced that parliamentary elections would be held on 11 December.
In all, 946 candidates - 34 political groups and 435 independent candidates - were vying for the seats in the National Assembly. About 11 per cent of them were women.
Major contenders in the 2011 elections were President Ouattara's RDR and its ally, the PDCI-RDA, led by former President Henri Konan Bédié. The latter pledged to work for the reconstruction of Côte d'Ivoire in cooperation with the RDR and the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP).
The FPI urged supporters of former President Gbagbo to boycott the elections in protest against the detention of the former President. It argued that conditions for fair elections had not been met, citing security concerns.
On 30 November, former President Gbagbo was transferred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity committed by his forces following the 2010 presidential elections.
A total of 36.56 per cent of the 5.7 million registered voters turned out at the polls.
The final results gave 127 seats to the RDR and 77 to the PDCI-RDA. The RHDP took four. The remainder went to three small parties reportedly close to the President and 35 independent candidates. In all, 28 women were elected. Speaker Koulibaly's LIDER failed to win parliamentary representation.
On 9 January 2012, President Ouattara announced that the National Assembly would be convened on 4 April.
On 12 March 2012, the newly elected National Assembly held its first session and elected former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, who had joined the RDR shortly before the 2011 elections, as its new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 11 December 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
5'664'377
2'070'793 (36.56%)
|
|
Notes
|
Approximate figures for the number of voters. |
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Rally of Republicans (RDR) |
127
|
|
|
|
|
| Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) |
77
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
35
|
|
|
|
|
| Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire (UDPCI) |
7
|
|
|
|
|
| Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Movement of Forces of the Future (MFA) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Union for Côte d'Ivoire (UPCI) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
226
28
11.02%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
National Assembly (12.01.2012, 11.12.2012, 01.01.2014, 01.01.2015)
http://africanelections.tripod.com/ci.html#2011_National_Assembly_Election
Note:
The Constitutional Council invalidated the election results for 12 constituencies due to irregularities. Fresh elections were held on 26 February 2012.
There is one vacant seat in the constituency of Logoualé, where the election was postponed following the death of a candidate. |
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