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Each presidential candidate in Cote d’Ivoire must have been born to an Ivoirian mother AND father under an amendment to a draft constitution drawn up by a committee of representatives of political parties and civil society earlier this year.
Hitherto, the draft had stated that for a candidate to be eligible, his/her mother OR father should be or have been Ivoirian. However, the president, General Robert Guei, said that during a tour of Cote d’Ivoire’s provinces, he found that the majority of the people wanted the “AND” formula.
The change was announced by the secretary of the government, Marcel Aka Zirimba, six days before a referendum on the new constitution.
Another provision bars anyone who has used another nationality from contesting presidential elections to be held in September.
Adversaries of one of the main contenders, ex-Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara maintain that at least one of his parents came from Burkina Faso and that he has held Burkinabe nationality.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
