Cote d’Ivoire ruling party wins absolute majority in parliament

Ivory Coast’s ruling party won an absolute majority in parliament, the country’s electoral commission announced on Tuesday, three days after the parliamentary vote.

The electoral commission announced President Alassane Ouattara’s Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace party RHDP party had won a majority of seats — 137 seats in the 255-seat National Assembly.

The vote comes just months after Ouattara won a third term in an election marred by unrest that killed at least 85 people.

But the parliamentary election passed off peacefully, in a sign of hope that the West African country can emerge from recent violence.

Ouattara’s party was challenged by opposition parties led by two of his predecessors, Henri Konan Bedie and Laurent Gbagbo.

But on Monday, the main opposition PDCI alleged electoral fraud and Gbagbo’s FPI party called on supporters to remain calm and await the official result.

Source: africanews.com