About the election
Short description of the context and results of the election.
President Alassane Ouattara's Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) retained its majority in the 255-member National Assembly, taking 167 seats. Two pro-presidential parties – the Union for Democracy and Peace in Côte d'Ivoire (UDPCI) and the Union for Côte d'Ivoire (UPCI) - won a total of nine seats. A faction of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI, of the ousted former President Laurent Gbagbo) led by Mr. Pascal Affi N'Guessan, participated in the 2016 elections and took three seats. Other FPI members vowed to continue their boycott until Mr. Gbagbo - on trial at the International Criminal Court for alleged crimes against humanity – returns to the country. During the election campaign, the RHDP ran on the government's record, promising to accelerate the progress of the country.
The 2016 elections followed the approval of a new Constitution in a referendum in October 2016. The new Constitution was proposed in May 2016 by President Ouattara (who was re-elected for a second and final five-year term in October 2015). It provides for the post of Vice-President and a Senate, which is yet to be established. The Senate will be a representative body of territorial communities and Ivoirians abroad. The new Constitution also loosened the eligibility conditions for the presidency: henceforth, only one parent must be Ivorian, instead of both parents previously.