Pascal Affi N'Guessan

The government-recognised party leader Pascal Affi N'Guessan is melting away as the man he calls 'my master' takes charge...

Gbagbo's traditional political party the Front Populaire Ivoirien has been riven by factional rivalries with Pascal Affi N'Guessan heading a government-recognised FPI that won only two seats (AC Vol 61 No 22 Ouattara sweeps half the board)...

The FPI has ceased to exist as a unified political party and Gbagbo's challenger within the party Pascal Affi N'Guessan lacks the charisma to bring it back to life...

Maurice Kakou Guikahué the Secretary-General of Bédié's party the once all-dominant Parti démocratique de Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) remains in prison as does Pascal Affi N'Guessan the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) candidate who lost to Ouattara in 2015 who was arrested for 'sedition'...

His main opponents Henri Konan Bédié and Pascal Affi N'Guessan – who boycotted the poll even though their names were on the ballot papers – are challenging the legitimacy of the president's mandate...

Five people were reported killed in Bongouanou – home base of Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) leader Pascal Affi N'Guessan – in clashes between his supporters in the local Agni community and those from the Diola a northern ethnic group who back Ouattara...

Bédié will be heavily reliant on the votes of his Baoulé heartland in the centre of the country while Pascal Affi N'Guessan – candidate of the legally registered strand of Gbagbo's Front Populaire Ivoirien – will draw support from the south-west...

In October Ouattara will face opponents representing a broader range of opinion than in 2015 when the hegemonic RHDP's main challenger was Pascal Affi N'Guessan leading the half of the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) that was no longer loyal to former head of state Laurent Gbagbo...

This time around Ouattara will face at least four main contenders: Former president Henri Konan Bédié who two years ago led his Parti démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire out of the RHDP camp; Pascal Affi N'Guessan for the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI); Albert Mabri Toikeusse of the formerly government-aligned Union pour la démocratie et la paix en Côte d'Ivoire (UDPCI); Former foreign minister Marcel Amon-Tanoh...

Whoever the PDCI-RDA candidate will be a serious opposition challenge will depend on the capacity of key figures in allied movements such as Kanigui Soro (no relation) in Soro's Générations et Peuples Solidaires (GPS) Pascal Affi N'Guessan and Assoa Adou in Gbagbo's still fragile FPI and Georges Armand Ouégnin of the pro-Gbagbo grassroots Ensemble pour la démocratie et la souveraineté (EDS)...

By comparison former President Henri Konan Bédié's Parti démocratique de la Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) has only four MPs while the arm of the Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) led by Pascal Affi N'Guessan has an even weaker presence in the chamber...