Ivory Coast Arrests Opposition Leader’s Top Aide Ahead of Protests

Ivory Coast authorities have detained a senior aide to opposition leader Laurent Gbagbo, accusing him of calling for an uprising in the run-up to last month’s presidential election, prosecutors announced on Wednesday.

Damana Pickass was taken into custody near Abidjan on Tuesday, prosecutor Oumar Braman Kone said in a statement.

Pickass serves as the chief coordinator of the Common Front, a coalition of the two main opposition parties led by Gbagbo and former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam.

Both Gbagbo and Thiam were barred from standing in the October 25 presidential election, which saw 83-year-old President Alassane Ouattara secure a fourth term in office in the world’s leading cocoa-producing nation.

The Common Front had called for demonstrations prior to the vote to protest the exclusion of its candidates, despite government restrictions on rallies organised by parties not participating in the election. Another protest is scheduled for Saturday.

Kone said political figures, including Pickass, had “called for a popular uprising and the overthrow of the Republic’s institutions.”

He added that these calls “resulted in acts of violence that threatened national security.”

While the October 25 election was largely peaceful, some violence did occur in a country where presidential polls are often accompanied by political tensions.

At least 11 people were killed in demonstrations before the vote or during clashes on election day, though opposition figures claim the death toll reached 27.

Lawyers for participants in the protests said that more than 100 individuals have already been sentenced to three years in prison for taking part in the demonstrations.