How ethnicity colors the Ivory Coast election
| Yamoussoukro and Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Voting along ethnic lines is still a reality in the fledgling democracies of West Africa.
A glance at the results of the recent election in Guinea shows that the phenomenon is alive and strong. There, Alpha Cond茅, who received a mere 18 percent in the first round of voting, was able to pick up the 鈥渁nyone but a Peul鈥� vote, and rode a wave of discontent against the country's majority ethnicity into the presidency earlier this month.
In neighboring Ivory Coast, sitting president Laurent Gbagbo says he's putting an end to this kind of thinking. But his strategy of unifying Ivorians against a 鈥渇oreign鈥� adversary brings forth nationalistic passions that are often trained on recent immigrants from poorer nations to the north -- as well as lifelong citizens from the country's mainly Muslim north.
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Mr. Gbagbo's opponent in Sunday's presidential election, Alassane Ouattara, has been disqualified from running on two previous occasions after having his Ivorian nationality called into question. But, he too, claims to rise above petty tribal politics. He ran on his record as an jet-setting economist with the International Monetary Fund; the man who can secure the financing needed to rebuild the country after it's civil war and ensuing political crisis.
After the first round of voting, Gbagbo's people proudly pointed to a map of the country in which regions in the south, east, and west all voted for Gbagbo, supposedly proving that he's truly a candidate who rises above the tribalism and regional popularity of his adversaries. Attracting this broad appeal is actually Gbagbo's only option, as he belongs to a minority ethnicity, the B茅t茅, who cannot propel him to victory on their own.
Who will win 'the Baoul茅 vote'?
First-round runner-up Ouattara, a member of the Dioula ethnic group, took only regions in the north (where he received almost 90 percent of the vote in some cases) and third place finisher Henri Konan B茅di茅 won in the center of the country, where his Baoul茅 ethnic group dominates.
Mr. B茅di茅 has been dropped from the ballot for Sunday's run-off election, and in spite of their rise-above rhetoric, the two front-running candidates have been heavily courting the Baoul茅 vote. B茅di茅's 25 percent support in the first round makes him king-maker in the run-off.
Three days after the vote, B茅di茅 cut short any speculation and threw his support behind Ouattara, saying that had they worked together in the government of independence leader F茅lix Houphou毛t-Boigny and could work together again because they hail from the same political family. But as the run-off draws near, it's unclear whether this endorsement will be enough to overcome the Baoul茅's ethnic pre-occupations.
In Yamoussoukro, Baoul茅 heartland, Ouattara's party has purchased dozens of small Chinese-made motor scooters, and supporters ride around town waving flags and cajoling their fellow citizens to vote Ouattara through megaphones.
鈥淚n the first round, I voted B茅di茅,鈥� says Celestin Abib Yao N'Dri, 32, a cobbler in the main city marketplace. 鈥淏ut he lost. So in the second round, it's got to be [Ouattara] because we've had enough of the power in place. We're tired. I'm voting for change.鈥�
Mr. N'Dri's Baoul茅 family has been loyal to B茅di茅's PDCI party for generations and that it's his duty to follow his leader's instructions and vote for Ouattara.
Ouattara's northern origins
But Ouattara's northern origins don't necessarily go down well here.
The Baoul茅 grew to think of themselves as the natural ruling class during Houphou毛t-Boigny's time when he transferred the political capital to Yamoussoukro and showered the region with money and development projects.
When the rebellion broke out in 2002 and failed to topple Gbagbo's government but held onto the northern half of the country, many people saw Ouattara's hand in play.
This perception was reinforced by a video which first circulated on the internet and then was projected in town squares and villages by Gbagbo supporters. The video shows a rebel commander, Zakaria Kon茅 explaining to a gathered crowd that Ouattara sends the rebellion millions of dollars every month.
While Ouattara denies any connection to the rebellion, many Dioula who sympathize with the rebellion openly support Ouattara. Gbagbo's campaign does everything it can to encourage the perception of Ouattara as a warmonger.
As a result, some Baoul茅 won't vote for a Dioula like Ouattara, no matter what. Martine Kouassi is a grandmother who runs a small restaurant in Yamoussoukro. She supports Gbagbo in the second round, but has paid dearly for this choice.
鈥淚 can't vote Ouattara, no matter what the Nana [chief in Baoul茅] says ... I will never vote for a Dioula who tore our country apart, who brought war and suffering,鈥� she says.
Kouassi made the mistake of asking B茅di茅 supporters to stop handing out Ouattara campaign literature in her restaurant and only days later received threats that her restaurant would be burned down. Now she has two police officers stationed at the front door everyday, but even the regular clientele don't dare go inside.
鈥淭hey call me a traitor for not following Bedie's instructions, but I say they're traitors for supporting a rebel,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 can only hope that when this is all over, my Baoul茅 brothers and sisters can put this behind us.鈥�
