The residence of opposition leader Bédié surrounded by the police

The residence of Henri Konan Bédié, leader of the opposition in Côte d’Ivoire, was surrounded on Tuesday by a hundred men from the police. The latter did not recognize the re-election of President Alassane Ouattara and was preparing to give a press conference to form “a transitional government”.

The police did not enter the residence of this former head of state, but fired tear gas to disperse journalists and activists and thus prevent the holding of this press conference. Inside the house, the men responsible for Bédié’s security brought out Kalashnikovs to prepare to defend him.

The government accuses the opposition of “conspiracy against the authority of the state”

An hour earlier, the government accused the opposition of “conspiring against the authority of the State” and indicated that it had taken legal action “so that the perpetrators and accomplices of these offenses could be brought before the courts”. “This declaration (of the opposition on the” transition “) as well as the violence perpetrated following the active boycott, constitute acts of attack and conspiracy against the authority of the State and the integrity of the national territory”, Justice Minister Sansan Kambilé said at a press conference.

Asked about a possible arrest of the opposition leaders, Sansan Kambilé replied: “All options are on the table. He (the prosecutor) will be able to calmly consider all the options at his disposal ”.

A boycotted ballot

Alassane Ouattara, 78, has just won a third five-year presidential term in Côte d’Ivoire with 94.27% of the vote in the first round. His election, the results of which were announced by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Tuesday, is controversial, the opposition having boycotted the ballot. The electoral process gave rise to deadly violence. About 40 people have been killed since August, including at least nine since the vote on Saturday.

Monday evening, detonations caused by unidentified individuals, which did not cause any injuries, resounded in front of the homes in Abidjan of four opposition leaders, including that of Henri Konan Bédié.

Fear of escalating violence

Elected in 2010, re-elected in 2015, Alassane Ouattara announced in March that he was giving up a new candidacy, before changing his mind in August, following the death of his designated dolphin, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly. The Ivorian fundamental law provides for a maximum of two terms, but the Constitutional Council estimated that with the new Constitution adopted in 2016, the presidential term counter was reset to zero. What the opposition disputes.

The presidential election took place in a climate of tension, and the fear of an escalation of violence is still present, ten years after the crisis that followed the 2010 presidential election, killing 3,000, following President Laurent’s refusal Gbagbo, who had been in power since 2000, to recognize his defeat against Alassane Ouattara.