Identity Politics, Citizenship and the 2010 Post-Election Conflict in Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

In 2010, Côte d'Ivoire witnessed a very devastating and unprecedented postelection conflict. The conflict resulted in both internal and external impact that over the years continue to affect the pace of development in the nation. This study aimed to investigate the causes and main drivers of the post-electoral crisis in Côte d'Ivoire in 2010. The study used expository research design adopting in-depth interviews to collect primary data and contextual approach to extract data from briefings from the crisis; UN, EU and international election observation reports and published information in press materials and peer-reviewed journals. The interviews were conducted through cluster sampling method with Election observers, ECOWAS Representation in Côte d'Ivoire, Staff of Abidjan Political Research Center "Centre de Recherche Politique d'Abidjan (CRPA)", National and International Civil Society, Political Experts, Conflict Experts, Political Scientists and Lecturers in the field. Structural descriptive and expository methods were used to analyse and present findings based on the Marxist and Liberal Structural theories of conflict. The study found out that the 2010 electoral conflict was caused by political flaws due to unclear policies and weak electoral institutions that allowed political interruption and manipulation. Furthermore, national identity was the main driver used by political actors to instrumentalize the conflict to make it seem like a civil war. Illiteracy, tribalism and religion were sensitive areas used to break social cohesion under the big umbrella of national identity. The concept of citizenship should be re-conceptualized and made clear in the constitution to prevent re-occurrence of post-election conflict in the coming years like 2020.Origin and culture has been a cause of conflict since the beginning of the world. Leaders incite people for a course by attacking their sense of belonging through origin as was done by Gbagbo and Ouattara during the 2010 election.

Nigeria's Multilateral Approach in West Africa: A Case Study of Cote D'Ivoire Electoral Violence

“…That lends credence to stymieing the growth of political stability in the sub-region, which gave birth to many forms of election violence and democratic instability, loss of lives and properties. As confirmed by [17] [23] and [ 16] the absence of free and fair elections resulted in democratic instability. Diamond buttresses further that societal peace and development are a symbiotic relationship with credible elections, and the level of development of a society depends on its level of democratic stability.…”

“…According to [16] and [39] On the eve of Christmas 2010, Nigeria influenced another ECOWAS extraordinary meeting of the head of government held in Abuja, Nigeria's capital. It reaffirmed their position that Ouattara was the true winner of the Cote d'Ivoire elections and endorsed all the economic sanctions imposed by international communities and continental and intercontinental organizations on Gbagbo's regime.…”

“…The much-anticipated presidential election of Cote d'Ivoire took place on October 31, 2010; the election was successfully conducted and generally accepted as a free and fair election by both local and international observers [16]. As [11] affirmed, this election witnessed over 80 per cent of the voters' turnout, bolstering the election legitimacy recognition by local and international observers and showing Ivorians' enthusiasm and acceptance of democracy.…”