The Ivory Coast electoral commission has announced that President Alassane Ouattara has overwhelmingly won a third term in office after his two main opponents boycotted the election and called his candidacy illegal.

Pascal Affi N’Guessan and Henri Konan Bédié, the main challengers to the incumbent, boycotted the elections saying it was illegal for President Alassane Ouattara to stand for a third term as it broke rules on term limits.

According to the constitution, Ivory Coast has a two-term presidential limit. President Ouattara who has been elected twice initially said he would stand down before subsequently announcing that he would run for President after the death of Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, who is said to be the party presidential nominee.

According to supporters of Mr Ouattara, a constitutional change in 2016 reset the clock and that the first term of President Ouattara did not count, a view strongly denied by the opposition who are now calling for a civil transition.

Already there are fears of post election violence with some 16 people dying riots broke out in August after Mr Ouattara announced that he will run for presidential election.

By: Sarjo D. Bojang