Prime Business Africa
Ivorian authorities must respect and protect the right to protest and allow peaceful rallies to take place, Amnesty International said today, after security forces dispersed a peaceful protest in Abidjan, and arrested 255 people, ahead of the 25 October presidential election.
On 2 October 2025, the National Security Council announced that all ‘necessary measures’ would be taken to maintain order and security during the election period, including banning any meeting and public protest to challenge the Constitutional Council’s decisions. Following this announcement, the Prefect of Abidjan, the commercial capital, banned a peaceful rally organized by the opposition for 4 October and another one planned for 11 October.
“The use of blanket bans on protests is a stark failure of the Ivorian authorities to uphold the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly. Such blanket bans are presumptively disproportionate and violate the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, both ratified by Côte d’Ivoire,” said Marceau Sivieude, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa.
“Any restriction on public protests must be lawful, necessary, proportionate, and non-discriminatory. Instead of banning them, authorities should respect and facilitate peaceful assemblies and ensure public order policing is aimed at enabling assemblies to take place as intended and grounded in de-escalation and the protection of participants.”
Mass arrests during a peaceful protest
On 11 October, security forces using tear gas dispersed groups of young people attempting to assemble peacefully in the Cocody area of Abidjan, according to testimonies, media reports and footage analyzed by Amnesty International. Authorities reported 237 arrests in Abidjan and 18 in Dabou, 40km from the commercial capital. The charges against those arrested were not disclosed.
“Anyone detained solely for the peaceful exercise of their human rights should be released immediately. All those detained must, in any event, be granted prompt access to a lawyer and their families notified timeously. We urge the Ivorian authorities to publish information on arrests and charges for each protester who was arrested, and investigate any unnecessary and excessive use of force,” said Marceau Sivieude.
“Amnesty International reminds the Ivorian authorities that peaceful protest is a right, not a privilege. The authorities have a duty to respect, protect and facilitate the freedom of peaceful assembly of everyone in the country.”
Background
Earlier this year President Alassane Ouattara, who has been in power since 2010, announced his intention to stand for a fourth term. On 8 September, the Constitutional Council published the final list of five candidates selected for the 25 October election, including President Ouattara’s candidacy. Those of two opponents who had joined forces in June to call for political change were rejected.
On 2 October 2025, the National Security Council ordered all ‘necessary measures’ to be taken to maintain order and security in the country, including banning assemblies aimed at challenging Constitutional Council’s decisions and deployed 44,000 members of the security forces throughout the country. On the same day, the Prefect of Abidjan banned a peaceful rally planned for 4 October by opposition parties.
After the 4 October ban, those opposition parties announced a new rally date for 11 October. On 11 October, groups of young people attempting to assemble peacefully were dispersed with tear gas, with hundreds of protesters arrested. In the evening, security forces temporarily surrounded the residence of an opposition leader, Pascal Affi N’Guessan before leaving again.
On 12 October, the two opposition parties of the candidates excluded from the presidential election called for daily protests, demanding political dialogue.
