Côte d’Ivoire: “There Will Be No Revision of the Electoral Roll Before the Presidential Election” – CEI President Coulibaly-Kuibiert

Abidjan, June 2, 2025 – The President of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) of Côte d’Ivoire, Coulibaly-Kuibiert Ibrahime, has announced that it will be impossible to carry out another revision of the electoral roll without jeopardizing the holding of the presidential election on its constitutionally mandated date. He made this statement during a press conference held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abidjan.

According to Mr. Coulibaly-Kuibiert, “To account for this constraint, we had previously anticipated including citizens who would reach voting age by the end of February 2025, the date of publication of the provisional electoral roll.”

The CEI President called on Ivorians to place respect for laws and institutions at the heart of the democratic process.

“Dear fellow citizens, nothing is ever perfect enough to escape criticism or calls for improvement. It is through debate, yes—but above all through respect for rules and institutions—that we will move our country forward toward democratic ideals and the rule of law,” he stated.

 2024–2025 Electoral Roll : Key Figures

• Total registered voters: 8,727,431
• New registrations: 715,006 (an 8.92% increase over the previous cycle)
• Male voters: 4,508,948 (51.66%)
• Female voters: 4,218,483 (48.34%)
• Polling stations: 25,678 (+2,154)
• Voting locations: 11,906 (+989)

These figures reflect the CEI’s efforts to increase accessibility to voting throughout the country.

Beginning Wednesday, June 4, voters will be able to check their registration status via the CEI’s official website (www.cei.ci) or by dialing *919# or #919# on all mobile networks in Côte d’Ivoire.

Citizen Sponsorship Still Required

The CEI also confirmed that the citizen sponsorship requirement, introduced in 2020, will again apply for this election. Presidential candidates will have approximately three months to collect sponsorships, based this time on the finalized electoral list, in line with the requests of political parties and electoral stakeholders.

“Lessons learned from past experiences will help better train political parties and voters and support the Constitutional Council in reviewing candidacy files,” added Mr. Coulibaly-Kuibiert.

🕊️ A Call for Collective Responsibility

In closing, the CEI President reminded Ivorians of their shared responsibility in maintaining peace:

“Let me echo the words of Aimé Césaire, who once said: ‘A nation is not a construction, but a maturing process.’ So it is with the electoral roll for the Commission,” he concluded.