As part of the preparations for the presidential election scheduled for October 25, 2025, in Côte d’Ivoire, a pre-electoral information mission from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been staying in Abidjan since June 29, 2025. This delegation was received on Tuesday, July 1, by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) at the institution’s headquarters in Cocody.
Led by Professor Théodore Holo, former president of the Constitutional Court of Benin, the mission held a working session with the president of the CEI Coulibaly Kuibiert, accompanied by his vice-presidents. This meeting is part of the ECOWAS Additional Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance, which provides for the deployment of pre-electoral missions to member states ahead of major electoral events. The objective is to collect information, identify potential needs, and ensure that all conditions are met for free, transparent, and peaceful elections.
“This is the purpose of our mission, which I have the pleasure to lead. It includes, among others, the ECOWAS Commissioner in charge of peace and security, ambassadors based in Abuja or representing the Commission’s president here in Abidjan, as well as the head of the electoral affairs division and other experts,” explained Professor Théodore Holo at the end of the meeting.
According to him, the mission will make recommendations after meeting the various actors involved in the electoral process. “These recommendations will be submitted to the ECOWAS Commission, which will decide, based on the observations, the measures to be taken to strengthen the credibility of the upcoming election,” he specified.
The head of the mission also emphasized the need to ensure a good understanding of the electoral rules by all stakeholders while guaranteeing that citizens have clear and peaceful avenues of recourse in case of disputes. “It is fundamental that the electoral process be a source of cohesion and not division. Democracy must not be a factor of instability but a vector of peace and development,” he concluded.
The presidential election in Côte d’Ivoire is set for October 25, 2025. The collection of citizen sponsorships began on July 1, 2025, and will end on August 26, 2025.
