ABIDJAN (Reuters) – Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara won a third term with 94.27% of the vote, final results showed on Monday, after an election that opposition parties largely boycotted and dismissed as illegal.
Main opposition figures are facing criminal charges after denouncing the Oct. 31 vote and creating a rival government in protest.
Opposition groups say Ouattara violated the constitution, which limits presidents to two terms. Ouattara says the approval of a new constitution in 2016 allows him to restart his mandate.
Clashes in the run-up to the vote and on election day killed around 35 people, officials said, raising concerns about the stability of Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer.
At a press conference on Monday, constitutional council president Mamadou Kone officially announced Ouattara’s victory, confirming last week’s provisional results.
(Reporting by Loucoumane Coulibaly; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Alex Richardson and Andrew Heavens)
