ABIDJAN: Tidjane Thiam, the party’s head, was officially announced as the party’s candidate for the October presidential poll on Thursday. The 62-year-old former Credit Suisse bank CEO was the only candidate for the center-right Democratic Party ( PDCI).
Tensions are high in the rich west African nation six months after the polling date. Businessman and previous secretary Thiam, who is currently residing outside of Ivory Coast, had to fight off a string over his ethnicity, with competitors claiming that his prior French citizen had prevented him from competing.
Three other well-known characters, including previous leader Laurent Gbagbo, are prohibited from running. At a gathering convention on Wednesday, Thomas received 92.5 % of the vote, with a 93 percent turnout, according to preliminary results.
More than 5, 000 PDCI people voted in various states. Despite” all the poison that was spread,” he said to his followers, who “honoured” him despite” all the poison that was distributed” regarding his nationality and personality. In an interview posted on social media, he stated,” October 2025 is still a long way away, I know I won’t get spared.”
drops a suit and tie:
Geoffroy Kouao, a political scientist, cautioned Thiam, who had spent more than 20 years pursuing his business profession abroad. He was not” also known to Ivorians.” Second Ivorian to pass the entrance examination to Polytechnique, the renowned French executive school, was Thiam.
He eventually moved back to Abidjan, where he began his political job and became the planning minister at age 36. However, the PDCI was removed from power the following year, in 1999, causing him to re-enter the private market and pursue a different job.
He rose to the position of chairman in organizations like Aviva and Prudential before running Credit Suisse from 2015 to 2020. Although a preliminary investigation revealed no evidence that Thiam was aware, he was forced to resign from Credit Suisse to draw a line under a huge spying scandal involving a former success control commander who moved to rivals UBS.
He assumed the command of the PDCI in December 2023 after making his returning to Ivorian elections. Social scientist Kouao argued that the PDCI will need to strengthen its efforts in reaching out to people and communicating its guidelines.
Thiam replaced his suit and tie with a clean clothing, the party color, at political rallies. After spending 20 years abroad, he has tried to turn his foreign expertise into a benefit and has vowed to “govern different.” He has dismissed worries about his lack of connection with the state.
He was born in Ivory Coast, and in 1987, he was granted European citizen, but his opponents claimed he had lost his Ivoryrian membership as a result. In March, Thiam claimed he had given up his French membership in order to participate in the election. Alassane Ouattara, 83, the judgement RHDP group has indicated that it will immediately seek re-election for a third term.
