Economist, opposition figure and then president: Alassane Ouattara was re-elected at the age of 83 for a fourth term at the head of Côte d'Ivoire, which he has governed since 2011, at the risk of being accused of seizing power by his detractors.

In the absence of Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, the two main opposition leaders removed by the courts, Alassane Ouattara unsurprisingly won the first round with nearly 90% of the vote and 50% turnout.

His entourage assures that he hesitated until the end before announcing at the end of July that he was launching himself into battle "out of duty" and because his "health allows it."

To prove this and to dispel criticism of his age, he led a field campaign, with meetings and encounters in Daloa (center-west), Bondoukou (east), Yamoussoukro (center) and Abidjan, where he appeared in good shape.

- "Natural candidate" -

The overwhelming favorite in the election, he did not need to make tons of promises during the campaign, contenting himself with highlighting his record on infrastructure, a strong point of his 14 years in power, and assuring that he wanted to "do more."

Before the election, which took place without any major clashes, the authorities deliberately tightened the screws by banning opposition demonstrations due to the risk of disturbing public order.

The undisputed leader of the majority, his supporters describe him as a "natural" candidate, while the opposition accuses him of "authoritarian excesses" and of choosing his opponents.

Alassane Dramane Ouattara (ADO) has long been hovering around power.

After a long career at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO), he was appointed Prime Minister in 1990 by the "father" of the Ivorian nation, Félix Houphouët-Boigny (1960-1993).

Born in Dimbokro in 1942, in central Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Ouattara, a Malinke Muslim (northern ethnic group) married to a French Christian woman, completed most of his schooling in neighboring Burkina Faso and was long referred to as a Burkinabè.

When Félix Houphouët-Boigny died in 1993, his Ivorian nationality was questioned by proponents of the xenophobic ideology of "Ivorianness".

In 2000, his presidential candidacy was rejected for "dubious nationality", and two years later, Côte d'Ivoire plunged into a deep political crisis that divided the country in two for almost a decade.

Mr. Ouattara's supporters support a rebellion and control the North, in the face of the power of President Laurent Gbagbo (2000-2011) who holds the South.

The crisis reached its peak during the 2010 presidential election: this time Mr. Ouattara was able to participate and won. The victory was contested by Mr. Gbagbo and Côte d'Ivoire descended into months of violence, which left more than 3,000 dead.

Supported by France, the Ouattara camp finally won and Laurent Gbagbo was arrested.

- Infrastructure and inequalities -

Having become president, this Francophile liberal, endorsed by the international community, managed to attract investors who quickly returned to Ivory Coast, where much needed to be rebuilt.

While his record as a builder is an undeniable strength, inequalities remain significant, as does corruption, and his detractors accuse him of uncontrolled debt (around 60% of GDP), as well as serious shortcomings in education and public health.

During his third term, Alassane Ouattara also saw the security situation in the Sahel deteriorate, one of the reasons that pushed him to re-enlist in 2025.

Ivory Coast must now contend with neighbors ruled by hostile military juntas—particularly Burkina Faso—whose territories are infested with jihadists. It is a threat it has so far managed to contain.

"Africa has very few leaders like Ouattara. He has experience, calmness, and knowledge of the world; he is an essential interlocutor in the region," assures a close friend of the president.

On the reconciliation front, few supporters of the Ouattara camp have been tried for crimes during the 2010-2011 crisis, but after his final acquittal by international justice, Laurent Gbagbo was able to return to Côte d'Ivoire in 2021 and was pardoned.

In the political game, technocrat Ouattara has become the one who dictates the tempo, but he will not go so far as to pardon his old rival, thus leaving him out of the running for the 2025 presidential election.

"If we don't give others the ability to fight for power, it's no longer democracy," Laurent Gbagbo says.

In 2020, Alassane Ouattara had said he wanted to step down. But the death of his successor, Amadou Gon Coulibaly, prompted him to re-enlist in an election that would be marked by violence (85 deaths), in which he was re-elected with 94% of the vote.

Since then, Mr. Ouattara has often repeated that he has "half a dozen potential successors." They will have to wait a few more years.