Once an anchor of stability in West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire is emerging from an armed conflict that began in 2002 and left the country divided between a rebel-controlled north and government-run south. After a four-year political stalemate and several unimplemented peace agreements, a series of “direct dialogue” negotiations between President Gbagbo and Forces Nouvelles rebel leader Guillaume Soro in March 2007, mediated by Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaoré, led to the Ouagadougou Political Accord. The Accord provided for Soro’s appointment as prime minister and a national identification process to confirm the citizenship or immigration status of millions of Ivoirians, and people residing in Côte d’Ivoire, who lack identity documents. Voter registration began in September 2008, and has been completed in Abidjan, but the process elsewhere in the country has been slowed by logistical and financial challenges.
The identification process will affect the accuracy of the voter roll, which will in turn impact the credibility of presidential and legislative elections expected to take place in 2009.
Current Activities
NDI's Côte d'Ivoire program supports dialogue between Ivorian political parties on key election-related issues and aims to increase the parties’ capacity to participate fully in the upcoming elections. Negotiations facilitated by the Institute among Ivorian political parties, the UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire, and the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) led to the adoption of the Ivorian Political Party Code of Conduct on April 24, 2008, at a ceremony attended by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, President Laurent Gbagbo, Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, high-ranking members of the diplomatic community and Ivorian civil society representatives.
Following the adoption of the code of conduct, NDI worked with political parties and civil society organizations (CSOs) to organize an extensive publicity campaign to educate party members and the general public about the code of conduct and political parties’ commitments. NDI produced a radio program that aired a comprehensive discussion of the code’s principles and dispute resolution mechanisms. With NDI’s assistance, 1,686 posters and signs showing the code were posted in schools, offices, and other public areas across the country, and 3,420 brochures of the code of conduct were distributed.
In September 2008, NDI hosted a two-day retreat in Grand-Bassam that brought together youth leaders representing Côte d’Ivoire’s 14 major parties and youth movements. The retreat provided a neutral setting for youth from across the political spectrum to discuss and build consensus on ways to help ensure the peaceful conduct of the upcoming presidential election. NDI also assists REFEP-CI, a network of women in political parties that works to expand opportunities for women to participate in politics.
Past Programs
Throughout the political crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, NDI has undertaken a series of initiatives to support national reconciliation and the reestablishment of non-violent political processes. In 2003, NDI began organizing forums with political party leaders to facilitate communication on issues of national concern. In preparation for these events, the Institute provided training to party leaders aimed at strengthening their negotiation and communication skills during periods of national crisis.
Beginning in 2005, NDI stepped up its efforts to support political parties as they prepared to participate in the electoral process. In 2006, the Institute organized a seminar on the roles and responsibilities of parties in a democratic political system. That same year, NDI opened a political party resource center in the city of Yamoussoukro that provided party leaders with access to information and logistical resources. The center also hosted a series of multi-party roundtable discussions where women and youth leaders identified and developed strategies to address obstacles to their participation in the political process. In 2007, NDI moved this center to Abidjan to serve as a resource for national-level party leaders.
Through a USAID-funded program that ended in September 2008, NDI supported the capacity of Ivorian political parties to monitor the electoral process by providing training and technical assistance to parties as they identified, trained and deployed monitors to observe the identification process.
Funding
NDI’s program in Côte d’Ivoire is currently funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED).
Contact Information
For more information about these programs, use our contact form or contact:
Washington, D.C.
Grant Godfrey, Program Manager
(202) 728-5546
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