| schema:articleBody
| - Here are the key developments in Ivory Coast since a coup shook the Western African country in 1999. On December 24, 1999, Henri Konan Bedie, in power since 1993, is overthrown by the military in the country's first ever coup, led by General Robert Guei. Elections organised by the military in 2000 are widely perceived to have been rigged. Alassane Ouattara, a former prime minister from the mainly Muslim north, is prevented from running on the grounds that he is alleged not to be an Ivory Coast citizen. Konan Bedie is also prevented from standing. Amid considerable confusion, Laurent Gbagbo is proclaimed winner and takes over as president. The swearing in is preceded by three days of violence. A rebellion breaks out in 2002 among troops from the north, resulting in the Ivory Coast being cut in two, with Gbagbo holding onto power in the south. French troops based in the country under a defence agreement move to separate the fighters. In 2004, despite the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force, armed conflict resumes with government air raids on rebel-held zones. In 2007, after more peace talks, Gbagbo appoints a leader of the northern rebels, Guillaume Soro, as his prime minister. After six delays since 2005, a presidential election finally takes place in October 2010. Incumbent Gbagbo faces his old rival Ouattara in the November run-off and on December 3 the constitutional council declares Gbagbo the victor, but the electoral commission says Ouattara won. The UN recognises Ouattara as the winner. In March 2011, after four months of tension and unsuccessful mediation efforts, forces loyal to Ouattara based in the north launch an offensive against the army and win control of much of the country in four days. French and UN soldiers deploy in economic capital Abidjan to prevent the use of heavy weapons. After 10 days of fighting in the capital, Gbagbo is arrested by Ouattara's troops. More than 3,000 people are killed during the crisis. In May Ouattara is sworn in as president. Gbagbo is transferred to the International Criminal Court in The Hague in November, and in 2014 he is joined by his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude. In August 2018 the coalition which has ruled Ivory Coast since 2010 collapses. In October one of the coalition's leading members, Soro, whose relations with Ouattara have deteriorated, says he will stand in the October 2020 presidential election. Living in exile in France, Soro faces legal problems, including a 20-year prison sentence. In March 2020, Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly is named the presidential candidate of Ouattara's RHDP party. But on July 8 Gon Coulibaly dies unexpectedly from a heart attack, plunging the country into uncertainty. On July 27, Konan Bedie is named the presidential candidate of his party, the PDCI. The next day Gbagbo, acquitted in January 2019 and under pressure from his party to stand, requests a passport to return to his country from Belgium. On August 6 Ouattara says he will contest October 31's presidential election. ang/jmy/eab/dl
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)