21 December 2016•Update: 21 December 2016
By Fulbert Yao
ABIDJA, Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast’s ruling coalition has won a nationwide election, returning 167 lawmakers to the country’s 255-seat National Assembly.
The result was confirmed by the country’s electoral commission late Tuesday night.
Speaking at a news conference, Youssouf Bakayoko, chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, said the Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) came first with 65.7 percent of seats followed by independent candidates with 29 percent, returning 75 deputies.
The Union for Democracy and Peace in Ivory Coast came third with six seats (2.36 percent). The Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), the party of former President Laurent Gbagbo, won three seats.
"We have 254 elected representatives, including 225 men and 29 women," Bakayoko said.
A new ballot will be organized in 15 days in the electoral district of Guiglo in the western part of the country to decide remaining seat. It will be fought between an independent candidate and the RHDP.
Last month Ivorian voters overwhelmingly approved a new constitution that paves the way for septuagenarian President Alassane Ouattara to run for a third term.
Ouattara came to power in 2010 was re-elected for a second term in October 2015.
The Ivory Coast was plunged into a year of post-electoral violence in 2010 which led to the deaths of at least 3,000 civilians.
Former President Gbagbo refused to accept the election result, and his followers claimed Ouattara was not truly Ivorian.
Gbagbo, who ruled between 2000 and 2011, is currently being held by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, charged with crimes against humanity.
