Ivorian opposition leader and former prime minister Pascal Afi N’Gusan has been arrested for trying to form a rival government after President Alassane won a landslide election victory, his wife and spokeswoman said.
Ivory Coast lawyers are pursuing terrorism charges against more than a dozen opposition leaders who boycotted the October 1 vote, in which Watara won a third term and announced he would form a transitional council.
The world’s top cocoa producer, whose disputed 2010 presidential election was soon followed by a civil war, has been plagued by fears of prolonged instability. More than 40 people have been killed in clashes before and after the recent polls.
N’Gusen was arrested overnight after prosecutors confirmed he was being searched by police, his wife, Angelin Kelly, told Reuters on Friday.
“I confirm that my husband was arrested last night, but I don’t know where he is right now.”
A spokeswoman for N’Gusen, Genevieve Gottzinger, said on Twitter that she had been arrested in the southeastern city of Akopa while on her way to her hometown of Bongaunau.
Police were not immediately available for comment.
Angus served as prime minister from 2000-2003 under President Lure Rant Gbagbo, whose refusal to accept defeat after the 2010 election sparked a civil war that killed an estimated 3,000 people.
The opposition claims that Att Tutara violated the constitution by seeking a third term. U Watara says that with the approval of the new constitution in the year 2016, his order was resumed and it was allowed to run again.
