Republic of Cote d’Ivoire: Referendum, 30 October 2016

At stake in this election:

• This referendum will determine if changes to the constitution will be made.

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Alassane Dramane OUATTARA (since 4 December 2010)
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Daniel Kablan DUNCAN (since 21 November 2012)
• Assembly: Cote d’Ivoire has a unicameral Assemblee Nationale (National Assembly) composed of 255 seats with members serving 5-year terms.

Electoral requirements:

• To pass, the referendum must have an absolute majority of voters in favor.  

About the referendum:

• This referendum seeks to amend the constitution.
  • One of the proposed changes to the constitution would amend Article 35, which requires presidential candidates to have two natural-born Ivorian parents. The amended version would only require candidates to claim Ivorian citizenship exclusively and have one natural-born Ivorian parent.
  • Another proposed change would create the position of vice president, elected with the president, and a Senate, with one-third of members appointed by the president.
  • Another change would allow for easier amendments to the constitution to be made in the future. It would lower the number of votes required to submit proposed constitutional changes to parliament from four-fifths to two-thirds.
  • The referendum also seeks to remove the age limit of 75 for presidential candidates.
  • There would also be a 2-term limit for president put in place.

Population and number of registered voters:

·         Population: 23,740,424 (July 2016 est.)

·         Registered Voters: 6,300,142 (2015)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 11,735,773 (July 2016 est.)

·         Is Cote d’Ivoire a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980)

·         Has Cote d’Ivoire ratified CEDAW: Yes (18 December 1995)

·         Gender Quota: No

·         Female candidates in this election: N/A

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 28 (11.02%)

·         Human Development Index Position: 171 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: High (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Cote d’Ivoire a signatory to CRPD: Yes (7 June 2007)

·         Has Cote d’Ivoire ratified CRPD: Yes (10 January 2014)

·         Population with a disability: 3,561,063 (est.)