Editing Politics of Ivory Coast (section)

==Civil war==
{{further|Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire}}

Troops, mostly hailing from the north of the country, mutinied in the early hours of 19 September 2002. They soon after launched attacks in many cities, including Abidjan. By lunchtime, they had control of the north of the country. Their principal claim relates to the definition of who is a citizen of Ivory Coast (and so who can stand for election as president), voting rights and their representation in government in [[Abidjan]]. The events in Abidjan shows that it is not a tribal issue, but a crisis of transition from a dictatorship to a democracy, with the clashes inherent in the definition of citizenship.
Forces involved in the conflict include:
* Government forces, the National Army (FANCI), also called ''loyalists'', formed and equipped essentially since 2003
* The ''[[Congrès Panafricain des Jeunes et des Patriotes|Young Patriots]]'': nationalist groups aligned with President [[Laurent Gbagbo]]
* [[Mercenaries]] recruited by President Gbagbo:
** allegedly, [[Belarus]]ians
** some former combatants of [[Liberia]], including under-17 youths, forming the so-called "Lima militia" [https://web.archive.org/web/20050714110654/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2005/03/30/cotedi10404.htm]
* ''[[Forces Nouvelles de Côte d'Ivoire|New Forces]]'' (Forces Nouvelles, FN), ex-northern rebels, who hold 60% of the country; their political expression is the ''Mouvement patriotique de Côte d'Ivoire'', or MPCI
* French forces: troops sent within the framework of [[Opération Licorne]] and under [[UN Mandate|UN mandate]] ([[United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire]]), 3000 men in February 2003 and 4600 in November 2004;
* Soldiers of the [[Economic Community of West African States]] (ECOWAS), ''White helmets'', also under the UN.
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==Political conditions==
In a region whose political systems have otherwise been noted for lack of stability, Ivory Coast showed remarkable political stability since its independence from France in 1960, until 2002.

''The contents of this section are outdated. See [[Civil war in Côte d'Ivoire]] for recent data.''

When many other countries in the region were undergoing repeated [[military coup]]s, experimenting with [[Marxism]], and developing ties with the [[Soviet Union]] and the People's Republic of China, Ivory Coast - under [[Félix Houphouët-Boigny]], president from independence until his death in December 1993 - maintained a close political allegiance to the Western World and good relationships with France and the United States. President Bédié is very familiar with the United States, having served as Ivory Coast's first [[Ambassador (diplomacy)|ambassador]] to this country.

Looking toward the country's future, the fundamental issue is whether its political system will maintain the stability which is the [[sine qua non]] for investor confidence and further economic development. Ivory Coast evolved, with relatively little violence or dislocation, from a single-party state, beginning in 1990. Opposition parties, independent newspapers, and independent [[trade union]]s were made legal at that time. Since those major changes occurred, the country's pace of political change has been slow. Whether further [[democracy|democratic]] reform will take place, adequate to meet future challenges, is unknown. As is generally true in the region, the business environment is one in which personal contact and connections remain important, where rule of law does not prevail with assurance, and where the legislative and judicial branches of the government remain weak. The political system remains highly centralized with the president dominating both the ruling party and the legislature and judiciary. Ivory Coast's efforts to break down central state control of the economy are undermined by the state's continued central control of the political system.

Ivory Coast has a high [[population growth rate]], a high crime rate (particularly in Abidjan), a high incidence of AIDS, a multiplicity of [[tribe]]s, sporadic student unrest, a different rate of in-country development according to region, and a dichotomy of religion associated with region and tribe. These factors put stress on the political system and will become more of a problem if the economy-not quite as dependent today on [[cocoa]] and coffee as it was some years ago but still dependent - takes a plunge similar to that of the 1980s.

The political system in Ivory Coast is president-dominated. The Prime Minister concentrates principally on coordinating and implementing economic policy. The key decisions - political, military, or economic - continue to be made by President Bédié, as they were made by President Houphouët-Boigny. However, political dialogue is much freer today than prior to 1990, especially due to the opposition press, which vocalizes its criticism of the regime. The Ivorian Constitution affords the legislature some independence, but it has not been widely exercised. Until 1990, all legislators were from the [[Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire – African Democratic Rally|Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire]] (PDCI). After the most recent elections (1995–1996), the PDCI continues to hold 149 out of 175 seats. The PDCI's "core" region may be described as the terrain of the [[Baoule]] tribe in the country's center, home of both Houphouët-Boigny and Bédié; however, the PDCI is well-entrenched in all parts of Ivory Coast.

The remaining 26 seats in the National Assembly are divided equally by the only two other parties of national scope-the FPI [[Ivorian Popular Front]] (FPI) and Rally of Republicans (RDR). The oldest opposition party is the FPI, a moderate party which has a socialist coloration but which is more concerned with democratic reform than radical economic change; it is strongest in the terrain of its Bete tribe leader, Laurent Gbagbo. The non-ideological RDR was formed in September 1994 by former members of the PDCI's reformist wing who hoped that former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara would run and prevail in the 1995 presidential election (but who was disqualified by subsequent legislation requiring 5-year residency); it is strongest in the Muslim north.

The presidential election of October 1995 was boycotted by the FPI and RDR because of Ouattara's disqualification and the absence of an independent electoral commission (among other grievances). Their "active boycott" produced a certain amount of violence and hundreds of arrests (with a number of the arrestees not tried for 2-1/2 years). These grievances remain unaddressed, with the next round of elections coming in the year 2000.-->