San Francisco Frontiers - I.Coast opposition calls marches against leader's eviction from electoral race

An Abidjan court on Tuesday struck Tidjane Thiam off the electoral list -- a decision that cannot be appealed and rules him out of standing in the October 25 vote.

The court said Thiam had been removed from the electoral list because he had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987.

Other political opposition figures, such as former president Laurent Gbagbo, are also excluded from the race due to judicial rulings.

"Tomorrow (Thursday), all over the country, every Ivorian, wherever they may be, will march in front of the courthouse in their region or town," the leader of Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) lawmakers, Simon Doho, said Wednesday.

Facing Doho, about 100 supporters sang the national anthem and shouted "Titi for president", using Thiam's nickname.

In Abidjan, the country's economic capital, the march is scheduled for 9:00 am (local and GMT), from the party's headquarters to the courthouse.

In Ivory Coast, demonstrations can take place with police authorisation but requests are almost systematically turned down.

Thiam, who is currently in France, had told AFP in a telephone interview Wednesday that his party would not present another candidate for the election.

"It's me or no one," Thiam said, adding he intended to take his case to the court of the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS.

"And we are going to continue to fight on the ground and to show those in power that this is a decision that is bad for Ivory Coast," Thiam told AFP.

- 'We've had enough' -

The Abidjan court based its ruling on article 48 of the nationality code, dating from the 1960s, which states that the acquisition of another nationality means Ivorian citizenship is lost.

Born in Ivory Coast, Thiam acquired French nationality in 1987 but gave it up in March to stand in the election, as candidates cannot have dual nationality.

"I maintain that this law has not been enforced in 64 years. Every day there are Ivorians who take another nationality for varied reasons," Thiam said.

His supporters have condemned the ruling as "political" and aimed at barring him from the election. But the ruling party says it was not involved in the decision.

"It's a dictatorship, we've had enough," said Appolline Mimi, 67, at the PDCI office in Abidjan's Plateau district. "Today, it's not about Tidjane Thiam, it's about the survival of Ivory Coast," she added.

For his part, Yao Abel Kouassi, 34, said that "if this is how it starts, it won't be a democratic election".

Thiam's legal woes in Ivory Coast are not yet over. On Thursday, the Abidjan court is due to rule in another case linked to his nationality.

A supporter of his PDCI party contests his legitimacy as head of the party.

Thiam is the latest of several prominent figures to have been barred from running.

Other presidential candidates also removed from the race include Gbagbo, the president from 2000 until his arrest in 2011, his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and exiled former prime minister and rebel leader Guillaume Soro, all based on judicial rulings.

On Wednesday, PDCI lawmakers and others affiliated with Gbagbo's party walked out of a plenary session at the National Assembly to protest against Thiam's exclusion.

The ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party has yet to nominate its candidate for the October race.

But it has called for 83-year-old President Alassane Ouattara, in power since 2011, to run for a fourth term. The party will hold a congress in June.

C.Williams--SFF