Former Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam has been elected as the leader of one of Ivory Coast’s main opposition parties, the PDCI, paving the way for a possible presidential bid in 2025.
Thiam, who has dual Ivorian and French nationality, received over 90% of the votes from the 7,000 members of the PDCI, the French acronym for the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, the party announced on Friday.
Thiam, 61, is a prominent figure in the global financial sector, having worked for consultancy firm McKinsey, insurers Aviva and Prudential, and Swiss bank Credit Suisse, which he left in 2020 following a spying scandal in which he denied any involvement.
He is also a descendant of two influential families in Senegal and Ivory Coast. His mother was the niece of Ivory Coast’s founding president, Felix Houphouet-Boigny, and his father was a journalist and minister who supported him. His uncle, Habib Thiam, was a prime minister and speaker of parliament in Senegal.
Thiam returned to Ivory Coast in 1994 to serve as the director of the National Bureau for Technical Studies and Development, a state agency that oversaw major infrastructure projects. He also became the minister of planning and development in 1998 under President Henri Konan Bedie, the former leader of the PDCI who died in August at the age of 89.
Thiam left the country in 1999 after a military coup toppled Bedie and resumed his private sector career in France and Britain. He maintained his ties with the PDCI, which ruled Ivory Coast from independence until the early 2000s, and allied with President Alassane Ouattara’s RDR party until 2018.
The PDCI is one of the main opposition parties that boycotted the 2020 presidential election, which Ouattara won for a controversial third term amid violent protests that killed dozens of people. The opposition claimed that Ouattara violated the constitution by running again, but he argued that a new constitution adopted in 2016 reset his term limit.
The election crisis deepened the political divisions in Ivory Coast, which is still recovering from a civil war that erupted in 2010 after a disputed vote between Ouattara and former president Laurent Gbagbo, who was recently acquitted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
Thiam’s election as the PDCI leader could signal a new era for the party and the country, as he is seen as a potential challenger to Ouattara in 2025. Thiam has said that he is not a politician, but a businessman who likes to solve problems. He has also expressed his vision for a more inclusive and prosperous Ivory Coast that respects the rule of law and human rights.
Thiam’s supporters hope that his international reputation and experience will attract investors and donors to the country, which is the world’s top cocoa producer and one of Africa’s fastest-growing economies. They also believe that he can appeal to a wide range of voters, especially the youth, who make up more than half of the population.
However, Thiam will also face some challenges, such as building a strong grassroots base, uniting the fractured opposition, and overcoming possible legal obstacles to his candidacy. He will also have to deal with the legacy of the past conflicts and the current tensions that have polarized the nation along ethnic and regional lines.
Thiam has said that he is ready to work with all political actors, including Ouattara and Gbagbo, to promote dialogue and reconciliation. He has also called for a reform of the electoral system and the constitutional court to ensure free and fair elections in the future.
As Ivory Coast prepares for the next political cycle, Thiam’s rise to the helm of the PDCI could mark a turning point for the country’s democracy and development.
Source: Reuters
