Ivory Coast opposition leader Thiam excluded from October’s presidential ballot list

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) - Tidjane Thiam, a former CEO of Credit Suisse and the main opposition leader in Ivory Coast, has been excluded from the country’s final list of presidential candidates along with three other prominent opposition candidates, the electoral commission said on Wednesday.

Ivory Coast is set to hold a highly contested vote in October.

Earlier this year, a court in Ivory Coast ruled that Thiam was not eligible to run for president because of his dual Ivorian-French nationality, a decision that Thiam vowed to fight.

Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, president of the country’s electoral commission, told reporters on Monday: “If the courts have ordered removal, we will comply."

Thiam, who is the president of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, won the party's primary in an uncontested vote. He was widely seen as the main challenger to President Alassane Ouattara, who won in 2020 after a disputed election left dozens dead and opposition candidates boycotted the election.

Born in Ivory Coast, Thiam received French nationality in 1987 but gave it up in March.

Other prominent opposition candidates excluded from the vote include former president Laurent Gbagbo, his close ally Charles Ble Goude, who was charged with crimes against humanity related to the civil war, and the former prime minister and rebel leader Guillaume Soro, who was sentenced in absentia to life in prison for organizing a coup.

There was no immediate comment from Thiam’s legal representative or his party.