This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0l0j849143o
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Tidjane Thiam: PDCI candidate removed from Ivory Coast electoral roll | |
| (about 13 hours later) | |
| The decision, which cannot be challenged, could end Tidjane Thiam's hopes of running for president | |
| Ivory Coast's main opposition leader has been removed from the electoral roll by the judiciary which says he is ineligible to run in October's presidential election. | Ivory Coast's main opposition leader has been removed from the electoral roll by the judiciary which says he is ineligible to run in October's presidential election. |
| Tidjane Thiam renounced his French citizenship in order to run for president, but a court argued on Thursday that the former Credit Suisse boss forfeited his Ivory Coast nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987. | Tidjane Thiam renounced his French citizenship in order to run for president, but a court argued on Thursday that the former Credit Suisse boss forfeited his Ivory Coast nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987. |
| Thiam said the court's decision was an "act of democratic vandalism, which will disenfranchise millions of voters". | Thiam said the court's decision was an "act of democratic vandalism, which will disenfranchise millions of voters". |
| His disqualification comes just a week after he was confirmed as the presidential candidate of the centre-right Democratic Party - the PDCI. | |
| The governing RHDP party has not yet announced its candidate, but the current president, 83-year-old Alassane Ouattara, is likely to run for what would be a fourth term in office. | The governing RHDP party has not yet announced its candidate, but the current president, 83-year-old Alassane Ouattara, is likely to run for what would be a fourth term in office. |
| Three other prominent figures, including former President Laurent Gbagbo, have been barred from running. | Three other prominent figures, including former President Laurent Gbagbo, have been barred from running. |
| Reacting to the ruling, Thiam said: "It's no surprise that this court ruling comes as our support among voters continues to grow. | |
| "After 15 years in power, RHDP leaders are running scared. They want to monopolise power rather than face the judgement of the electorate." | "After 15 years in power, RHDP leaders are running scared. They want to monopolise power rather than face the judgement of the electorate." |
| After becoming the first Ivorian to pass the entrance exam to France's prestigious Polytechnique engineering school, he returned to Ivory Coast and took up politics. | After becoming the first Ivorian to pass the entrance exam to France's prestigious Polytechnique engineering school, he returned to Ivory Coast and took up politics. |
| In 1998, aged 36, he became planning minister before the PDCI was ousted from power in a coup the following year. | In 1998, aged 36, he became planning minister before the PDCI was ousted from power in a coup the following year. |
| He then moved abroad and pursued a largely successful business career. | He then moved abroad and pursued a largely successful business career. |
| Thiam has held senior positions in leading international businesses like Aviva, Prudential and Credit Suisse. He quit from the latter in 2020 following a spying scandal although he has been cleared of any involvement. |