No holds barred

The bitter government campaign for the presidency scares investors and stirs up hate

The bitter pre-election campaign for the national presidency is wrecking the country's reputation for stability and its hopes for the foreign loans and investments that it needs. Côte d'Ivoire has long had a poor debt and fiscal record but could always count on a stable political climate and French support to win the goodwill of creditors and donors. Now, though, President Henri Konan Bédié is determined to be re-elected and his government has launched a virulent campaign against his only serious rival, Alassane Dramane Ouattara (AC Vol 40 No 17). The attack focuses mainly on the claim that despite being briefly the late President Félix Houphouët-Boigny's Prime minister, Ouattara is 'foreign' and therefore disqualified according to the country's new nationality laws. Many investors are holding back till after the presidential election from fear of ethnic and religious divisions and of a clash with the International Monetary Fund over the current structural adjustment programme (AC Vol 40 No 14). There are also fears that the ruling Parti Démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire-Rassemblement Démocratique Africain may well be able to ensure victory for Konan-Bédié but not a convincing mandate.