ABIDJAN: Ivory Coast’s main opposition party on Thursday formally named its leader Tidjane Thiam as its candidate for the October presidential election. The 62-year-old former Credit Suisse bank chief executive was the only contender for the centre-right Democratic Party (PDCI).
Tensions in the wealthy west African country are running high six months from the scheduled polling date. Businessman and former minister Thiam, who is currently outside of Ivory Coast, had to fend off a row over his nationality, with opponents saying his past French citizenship disqualified him from the contest.
Three other prominent figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo, are barred from running. Thiam obtained 99.5 percent of the votes at a party convention on Wednesday, with the turnout at 93 percent, according to provisional results.
More than 5,000 PDCI members voted across the country. Thiam thanked his supporters who had “honoured” him despite “all the venom that was spread” regarding his nationality and his character. “October 2025 is still a long way off; I know I won’t be spared,” he added, in an interview posted on social media.
Drops suit and tie:
Political scientist Geoffroy Kouao cautioned that Thiam was not “well known to Ivorians”, having spent more than 20 years out of the country pursuing his business career. Thiam became the first Ivorian to pass the entrance exam to Polytechnique, the prestigious French engineering school.
He later returned to Abidjan, where he began his political career and became minister of planning at 36. But a coup ousted the PDCI from power the following year, in 1999, leading him to embark on a different career path abroad in the private sector.
He became a director in companies such as Aviva, Prudential and then ran Credit Suisse from 2015 to 2020. Though an initial investigation found no indication that Thiam was aware, he was forced to resign from Credit Suisse to draw a line under a massive spying scandal against a former wealth management chief who jumped ship to rivals UBS.
Following his return to Ivorian politics, he assumed the leadership of the PDCI in December 2023. “The PDCI will have to redouble its efforts in meeting people and communicating its policies,” political scientist Kouao said.
In political rallies, Thiam swapped his suit and tie for a green shirt, the colour of his party. He has dismissed concerns about his lack of connection with the country after two decades abroad, and has sought to turn his international experience into an asset, vowing to “govern differently”.
Born in Ivory Coast, he acquired French nationality in 1987, with his opponents arguing he forfeited his Ivorian citizenship when he became French. Thiam said in March that he had given up his French citizenship to stand in the election. The ruling RHDP party has indicated it will soon nominate President Alassane Ouattara, 83, for re-election for a fourth term.
