Around 35,666 candidates, including 30,419 for the municipal elections and 5,247 for the regional elections, have started their electoral campaign since Friday, August 25, 2023, for these Ivory Coast local elections scheduled for September 2nd.

Beyond the scope of local development, these combined elections also present significant political stakes in several localities such as Yopougon, Cocody, Port-Boüet, and Marcory.

In Yopougon, the largest commune in Côte d’Ivoire located in the western part of Abidjan, the candidate from the ruling party (RHDP), Adama Bictogo, who is also the President of the National Assembly, will have to contend with Dia Houphoüet Augustin from the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), and especially Koudou Michel Gbagbo from the African People’s Party-Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI).

The outcome of this election is highly anticipated in this commune that has long been considered a stronghold of PPA-CI’s president, Laurent Gbagbo, who does not exclude the possibility of entering the arena himself to support his son’s candidacy.

In Cocody, an upscale commune in the East of Abidjan, an “internecine” electoral battle is shaping up between the incumbent mayor Jean-Marc Yacé from the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), and the deputy Yasmina Ouégnin, a member of the same party.

These two “fraternal enemies” of the PDCI will face off against Éric Taba, the chief of protocol for Alassane Ouattara, who is also the candidate of the Ivorian presidential party and intends to create a surprise in Cocody.

In the commune of Port-Boüet in the south of Abidjan, Justin Katinan Koné, the former spokesperson of Laurent Gbagbo’s PPA-CI, aims to challenge Emmou Sylvestre, the incumbent mayor from PDCI-RDA.

In Marcory, another commune in the South of Abidjan, the battle is mainly between the minister Tchagba Laurent from the RHDP and the incumbent mayor Abi Raoul Modeste from PDCI-RDA.

The electoral campaign for these combined municipal and regional elections will conclude on Thursday, August 31, 2023, at midnight.

These electoral milestones will determine those who will hold the reins of Ivorian local communities for the next five years.