Côte d'Ivoire's opposition leaders protest ahead of October presidential vote

Transcript

00:00Organizers had urged people to take part in the demos in Kokodi, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire's

00:12commercial capital.

00:14But just a day earlier, officials banned all marches of the city, insisting they were

00:19illegal as they were a threat to public order during this election period.

00:23Security forces blocked key roads and set up barricades to prevent people from gathering.

00:30I'm here for the march, but the police are brutalizing us.

00:33They're arresting our brothers and sisters and taking them away.

00:36Our march is peaceful.

00:37We haven't broken anything.

00:38So why are they assaulting us?

00:41We came to the designated location in Kokodi, Cijun, for the march.

00:47But then the police came and fired Tiangas at us.

00:52We do not want a fourth term.

00:54We say no.

00:55We want our country back.

00:56We want to be free.

01:00The march comes after the official launch of the presidential campaign period on Friday.

01:05Five candidates, including incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, are vying in the 25th October

01:10presidential election.

01:13However, the final list of candidates excluded two main opposition figures, former President

01:18Laurent Gbagbo and opposition leader Tijan Tiam.

01:21Tiam was removed from the electoral register over nationality-related legal issues after he acquired

01:28French nationality.

01:29He, however, officially renounced his French citizenship in March to run for president,

01:34but was still barred from vying.

01:37Gbagbo, who heads the African People's Party, was stopped from running because of a criminal

01:42conviction in 2018.

01:43Public opinion must know that there is a good portion of Ivorians who do not agree with

01:51what has been done.

01:52This right cannot be taken away from us because it is part of the constitutional principles.

01:57Our first objective is, therefore, to express our discontent.

02:01The second objective is to draw everyone's attention to the fact that this malice, if not resolved,

02:06could in the future beyond our control lead to uncontrolled situations.

02:10President Uwatara, who has been in power since 2010, announced his intention to run for a fourth term

02:17earlier this year.

02:21This follows a 2016 constitutional change that removed the presidential term limit.