President Alassane Ouattara was on Monday sworn in for a fourth term as leader of the Ivory Coast, after elections in which his two main opponents were excluded from the ballot.
The 83-year-old was reelected with nearly 90 percent of the vote in the October 25 election — though turnout in the West African nation was a relatively low 50.1 percent.
The president, who has led the Ivory Coast since a violently disputed election in 2010, vowed to “loyally defend the constitution” at his inauguration.
And the veteran politician who will turn 84 in January promised that his fourth term would be one of “generational transition”.
Leaders from 11 African countries attended the ceremony at the presidential palace in the economic capital Abidjan, as well as former leaders such as Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou.
Former colonial ruler France, which maintains good relations with the Ivory Coast, was represented by National Assembly Speaker Yael Braun-Pivet.
The United States sent Jacob Helberg, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, who was due to meet with Ouattara in the afternoon.
Ouattara’s two main opponents, Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, were excluded from the ballot — Gbagbo due to a criminal conviction and Thiam over nationality issues.
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Ouattara first came to power following a presidential clash between him and Laurent Gbagbo in 2010 and 2011, which cost more than 3,000 lives among their supporters.
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