REPUBLIC OF COTE D'IVOIRE Official name: Republique de Côte d'Ivoire (Republic of Côte d'Ivoire). (The country was usually called Ivory Coast in English until 1985, when the government requested that the French name be used.) Location: West Africa International organisations: The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, The African Union, The Non-Aligned Movement, Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, The United Nations, The World Trade Organisation Borders: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali Coastline: Gulf of Guinea Land area: 322,460 Km2 Population: 16,800,000

Ethnicity: Virtually the entire population is of West African stock. The largest groups are the Akan (42.1%), Gur (17.6%), Northern Mandes (16.5%), Krous (11%) and Southern Mandes (10%). There are small Lebanese and French minorities.
Languages: French is the official language and the language of business and the media. Many African languages are spoken, corresponding to the ethnic groups listed above.
Religion: Sunni Moslem 35-40%, Catholic Christian 20-30%, indigenous beliefs 25-40%
Form of government: Presidential democractic republic, though at present gripped by crisis and drifting towards authoritarian rule. Cote d'Ivoire is divided into 58 Departments.
Capital: Yamoussoukro (virtually all government functions remain at Abidjan, the capital before 1983.)
Constitution: The new Constitution of Côte d'Ivoire came into effect on 23 July 2000.
Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term.
Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the President.
Legislature: Cote d'Ivoire has a unicameral legislature. The National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale) has 225 members, elected for five-year terms from single-member constituencies.
Electoral authority:
Freedom House 2005 rating: Political Rights 6, Civil Liberties 6

Political history

The territory which now constitutes Côte d'Ivoire was mostly under the influence of the Ashanti kingdom in neighbouring Ghana until the late 19th century. The French established trading ports on the coast in 1843, but the territory was not formally annexed until 1893. Political organisation of the population began after the Second World War, when plantation workers led by Felix Houphouet-Boigny began to agitate against rule by white coffee-planters.

An elected assembly was introduced in 1946, and universal suffrage in 1957. In 1958 Côte d'Ivoire voted for independence within the French Community, and full independence followed in 1960. Houphouet-Boigny's party, the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire, dominated politics. The party was linked to the French Communist Party until 1950, but by the time of independence Houphouet-Boigny had become a reliable supporter of French interests.

Houphouet-Boigny established a one-party state and remained president with French support until his death in December 1993, though as a fairly benevolent dictator by African standards. He was succeeded by his deputy Henri Konan Bedie. Bedie was overthrown in December 1999 by an army coup, and General Robert Guéï took power.

In 2000 Guéï held presidential elections, but his main rival Alassane Ouattara, a Moslem from the north, was barred. The elections, however, were sufficiently democratic for Guéï to be defeated by his remaining rival, Laurent Gbagbo. After a period of tension Guéï accepted defeat and left the country. But Ouattara's supporters then launched a rebellion that has led the country to the brink of civil war.

In 2002 French peace-keepers arrived, and pressured Gbagbo into accepted a power- sharing agreement with Ouattara's northern forces. This provoked anger in the Christian south, and the French now find themselves at the centre of the conflict rather than impartial peace-keepers. An agreement for fresh elections seems to be the most likely outcome of this impasse.

Cote d'Ivoire's main political parties are Gbagbo's social-democratic party, the Ivorian People's Front, Houphouet-Boigny's old Democratic Party of Ivory Coast and Ouattara's Rally of Republicans

Human Rights Watch issued a Statement on Côte d'Ivoire in November 2002:

"Côte d'Ivoire is facing a political crisis that poses a serious risk that the country could plunge into the sort of brutal war well known to neighboring Liberia and Sierra Leone. The crisis is rooted in well-established divisions within Ivorian society and in particular within the military, divisions that have been deliberately exacerbated by government policy over the last few years. This is in turn linked to the government's failure to address the violence and intimidation that marred the presidential and parliamentary elections of late 2000. That this downward spiral in respect for human rights continues is not inevitable. But if it is to be avoided, both sides of the conflict must adopt inclusive policies to guarantee the protection of the rights of all people in Côte d'Ivoire regardless of their ethnic, religious, national, or political identity. The impunity so far enjoyed for past and present human rights violations must also be addressed."