Ivory Coast’s red card politics is the goal of democracy after the ban on Tidjane Thiam.

Even Stella’s international business career cannot prepare for the reality of the Ivory Coast’s politics, and some question the democratic credentials of African countries, which are famous for Cocoa and the best football players in the world.

It is a painful lesson waiting for Tidjane Thiam to wait for the corridor of power and the popular pressure on the distance to rescue the bid to become the president of ivory.

The constant progress in the October elections was discontinued when a judge ruled that a 62 -year -old boy had lost his citizenship of Ivoryist by taking a French nationality decades ago and did not withdraw until it was too late to qualify this year.

After 20 years of global finance in 2022, he returned to Ivory Coast in 2022, and was immediately 83 years old and immediately considered as the current officer of Alassane OUATTARA, the current director of Alassane Outtara.

Restriction of traditional noble family And the great nephew of the respected founding president of the country, Félix HoupHouët-Boigny, was impressed by the top government officials and ministers in the 1990s, supervising infrastructure development and radical economic reform.

The military coup forced Thiam to find a fresh career abroad, which suffered a famous odor as the chief executive of Prudential, a British insurance giant, and the chief executive of the bank group Credit Suisse.

But three years ago, he finally returned home, and he began a steady progress toward the next Ivoria presidential election.

In 2023, after the death of Henri Konan Bédié, the long -term habitat leader of the Ivory Coast Opposition Democratic Party (PDCI), Tiam was completely deployed to take his place and was selected as a presidential candidate on April 17 this year.

It is not guaranteed to win, and it is supported by the record for the four -year economic growth of all assets and incumbent advantages and more than 6%of annual economic growth, especially as well as the plausible Outtara decided to execute for four semesters.

But Thiam was noticeable as a major alternative.

He was the opposer of the ruling rally of the HOUPHOUëTist (RHDP) for democracy and peace, providing Ivoria voters with the opportunity to change the government.

However, with his central politics and solid technical credentials, his candidate reassured his ability to continue the impressive economic development of OUATTARA from 2011.

The potential trajectory is now blocked. If the court’s ruling is standing -Ivorian Law does not provide an appeal option for this specific problem. Thiam will be out of the October competition.

In the past, the court’s conviction is already excluded from three other opposition figures, such as the political crisis and the civil conflict, the former president of Lorent, and former Prime Minister Charles Blé Goudé, who have already brutally paralyzed the progress of the ivory coast between 1999 and 2011.

Now the view is that the OUATTARA or the selected RHDP follow -up candidate will approach the election without facing heavy political challenges.

It can already deepen the public disillusionment of the state’s political facilities.

This violates the broader context of Africa, where the radical anti -political investigation of soldiers who dominated power in Mali, Bourkines, Paso, and Niger discovered a compassionate audience among many dissatisfied young people.

It is generally important in a society under 35 years of age.

There was a moment of encouragement in this crisis of Africa democracy.

In 2023, in Liberia and last year, in Senegal and Cana, the incumbent government was voted in a free and fair election.

Senegal’s result was especially especially in the passionate mobilization of young people.

Many people hoped that Ivory Coast could provide a positive example of democratic choice and suggestions for change, and because it is a regional power of the state, it can provide an example that can be more influential.

It is an economic engine of the CFA French single currency block, and it is also a core hub for business services and finance in addition to the cocoa industry, and is a major political voice of the ECOWAS of the regional group.

What happens in Ivory Coast is actually more important and widely known throughout Africa, throughout Africa.

OUATTARA is one of the most famous politicians on the continent and leads to extensive respect internationally.

Nevertheless, running for the next presidential election of the country disappeared from the return version of identity politics that caused the bitter disputes and instability of the 1990s and 2000s.

At that time, the government of Bédié and GBAGBO used the controversial “Ivoirité”, which means that his family had a foreign origin, but did not replace the presidential position.

In 2007, the government abolished his prohibition on his candidate, and in 2007, when he was already in the office, the new constitution ended the requirement that the presidential candidate’s parents were born.

The poisonous mobilization of identity issues was a major contribution to the inter -Korean war, street violence and northern separatist partitions.

Today this country is far from such a large conflict.

There is no popular appetite for the return to confrontation, and politicians are far from the mysterious investigation of the past.

But Thiam Saga shows how the weight can still be greatly weighted even in a more legal form and more peaceful age.

Ivory Coast allows dual nationality only under certain limited conditions.

Therefore, in the ruling on April 22, the Abyss Court declared that it automatically lost the citizenship of ivoryism when they acquired French nationality almost 40 years ago after several years of research in Paris according to the legal conditions after independence.

He officially surrendered this February and originally recovered citizenship, but was too late to be included in this year’s qualified voters or candidate registration.

The vain lawyer insisted that he had a French nationality since Thiam was born.

He argued that in order to emphasize the absurdity and inconsistency of the situation, many players logically have French nationality, so they should logically return the African Cup of African football title in 2024.

“How to apply the law () If they just applied it to me, we must return the cup to Nigeria.

And Thursday could have another frustration at the scheduled court hearing, and the judge can now decide that Thiam cannot lead PDCI in a non -state.

In the last two weeks, Thiam Camp expects the combination of public pressure and careful political negotiations to lead him to the president and perhaps a compromise that can restore with other rival rivals.

And if he decides not to run, he may want to protect impressive results and intervene in a kind of transaction that Thiam can run.

If it takes a few months before the poll, there is still time. But no one believes it.

Paul Melly is an African program and consulting companion in the Chatham House in London.