ABIDJAN (Reuters) – A court in Ivory Coast has ruled that opposition leader and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam be removed from the country’s electoral roll, citing his French nationality at the time of registration, according to his lawyer.
The court’s decision, which is final and cannot be appealed, could effectively end Thiam’s bid to contest in the presidential election scheduled for October in the world’s largest cocoa-producing nation.
“Given his French nationality and in accordance with Article 48 of the Ivorian Nationality Code, he was no longer Ivorian at the time he registered on the electoral roll,” Thiam’s lawyer told Reuters.
Thiam, who was born in Ivory Coast, was elected leader of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) in 2023. His leadership of one of the country’s major opposition parties positioned him as a likely contender for the presidency.
In February, Thiam renounced his French citizenship to meet constitutional eligibility requirements for presidential candidates, who must hold only Ivorian nationality. Last month, France’s official journal confirmed that Thiam had formally relinquished his French citizenship.
Despite fulfilling this condition ahead of the upcoming vote, the court’s ruling suggests that his earlier registration while still a French national disqualifies him from participating in the election.
