Ivory Coast uses universal, free, equal and secret suffrage. Ivorian men and women may vote from age 18 when they have electoral-list registration and retain their civil and political rights. This includes citizens who acquired Ivorian nationality through naturalization or marriage. Restrictions can apply after certain criminal convictions, specified unsuspended prison sentences, unreformed bankruptcy, contumacy, interdiction or a judicial voting ban. The electoral list is permanent and public, and the CEI updates it annually. A voter normally registers through the place of domicile, with residence of at least six months or a fifth consecutive entry on the tax roll serving as relevant access conditions. Voters abroad register through diplomatic or consular channels. The 2025 Révision de la Liste Électorale, known as the RLE, covered new registrations, personal-data changes, removal of deceased or disqualified voters and polling-place changes. The CEI provides list checks using a form number, elector number or name; during the 2025 process, Orange users could use *919# and Moov users could use #919#. The CEI operates through local electoral bodies. The 2025 cycle used 615 local structures: 31 regional commissions, 85 departmental commissions, 420 sub-prefectural commissions and 79 communal commissions, with diplomatic and consular structures for voters abroad. It organized 11,906 voting locations and 25,678 bureaux de vote, or polling stations. The latest official published electoral-list figure was 8,727,431 electors. The official 2025 election recensement recorded 8,568,456 registered voters, 4,292,474 voters and 50.10% turnout; these figures use different source denominators and should not be treated as one identical count. The presidential election is direct and uses a two-round absolute-majority system. The mandate lasts five years and allows a maximum of one re-election. The first round is scheduled for the last Saturday in October of the fifth mandate year, and a second round, if needed, for the last Saturday in November. A presidential candidate must be an elector, at least 35 years old, exclusively Ivorian and have an Ivorian father or mother by origin. The candidate also needs sponsorship equal to 1% of the local electorate in at least half of the Districts Autonomes and Régions. The deposit is 50,000,000 FCFA; the dossier is due 60 days before voting and the final candidate list is published 45 days before the first round. Members of the Assemblée nationale are elected by direct universal suffrage for five years. Single-seat constituencies use a one-seat majority contest. Constituencies with several seats use closed blocked lists, without preferential voting or panachage, meaning voters cannot rearrange candidates or combine candidates from different lists. Lists in constituencies with more than two seats must include at least 30% women. The deposit is 100,000 FCFA per candidate and the candidacy deadline is 45 days before voting. A tie leads to a rerun within a maximum of 15 days. The Sénat has five-year mandates and combines elected and appointed members. Two-thirds are elected by an electoral college that includes District Autonome, regional and municipal councillors, while one-third is appointed by the President. The election uses a one-round majority system and closed blocked lists without preferential voting or panachage. Lists with more than two seats must include at least 30% women. The deposit is 100,000 FCFA per candidate, and the candidate list is due no later than 30 days before voting. Regional and municipal councils are elected directly for five years using complete closed lists. The winning list receives half the seats, and the remaining seats are distributed proportionally by the largest remainders. Voters cannot use preferential voting or panachage. Lists must include at least 30% women and alternate women and men. The deposit is 10,000 FCFA per candidate. The election date is set by decree and published at least two months before voting. A tie leads to a rerun within a maximum of 15 days. Campaign dates are set by decree on the CEI's proposal. Official press, public audiovisual media and digital access must be available on an equal basis. State vehicles may not be used for campaigning, and active prefectural, military and paramilitary personnel may not attend campaign meetings. Candidate or party dossiers, sponsorship where required and the deposit are submitted to the competent bodies and the Trésor public. A deposit is refunded when the dossier is rejected or when the candidate or list reaches at least 5% of the suffrages exprimés; otherwise it goes to the State. Voters can verify their registration, polling place and voter card before election day. Voting takes place on a Saturday and normally lasts one day, except when force majeure requires a different arrangement. Only registered voters may vote. Postal voting, proxy voting and ordonnance voting are not permitted. Identity is checked with the carte d’électeur or CNI. The voter marks a single ballot, uses the secret booth and places the folded ballot in a transparent sealed urne. The voter signs or provides a left-index fingerprint, and indelible ink is used. A voter with a physical disability may receive help from a chosen assistant who does not have the same disability. Voters still waiting at closing time may vote. Candidate delegates and observers can monitor proceedings, sign the procès-verbal and add comments. Counting begins immediately at each polling station in the presence of candidate representatives and the CEI. The polling-station president announces the provisional result. Members of the bureau de vote and candidate representatives sign the procès-verbal, and representatives and the CEI receive copies. Four copies are transmitted for the administrative recensement. The CEI publishes national provisional results no later than five days after voting closes. After the solemn provisional proclamation, the procès-verbal and supporting evidence go to the Conseil constitutionnel within three days. Presidential candidates may submit complaints within five days, and the Conseil constitutionnel generally decides within seven days. If grave irregularities affected the overall result, it can annul the election and require a rerun within a maximum of 45 days. Local candidature and administrative disputes fall under the Conseil d’Etat, while the Conseil constitutionnel controls presidential and parliamentary candidacies and final presidential results. The latest reviewed national cycle was the presidential election of 25 October 2025. The Conseil constitutionnel confirmed the final result on 4 November 2025: Alassane OUATTARA received 3,759,030 votes, or 89.77%, and was elected in the first round; no registered complaint was recorded. In the EDAN process on 27 December 2025, results were annulled and reruns ordered in circumscription 021 Toumodi Commune and circumscription 204 Dualla et Massala. Those reruns took place on 21 February 2026 and received final confirmation on 13 March 2026. No later national election date is established by the reviewed official information.
Elections in Ivory Coast
Electoral processes in Ivory Coast allow eligible citizens to choose the President, members of the Assemblée nationale and local councillors; the Sénat is partly elected and partly appointed. The CEI (Commission Électorale Indépendante) manages the electoral register, polling arrangements, candidate lists, voting and provisional results, while the Conseil constitutionnel and Conseil d’Etat handle different legal controls. Eligibility depends on Ivorian nationality, age, civil and political rights and registration on the electoral list.
Tip
Treat voting, candidacy, observation and result challenges as separate procedures with different conditions. For voting, verify registration and polling details early, prepare an accepted identity document and plan an in-person Saturday vote. For candidacy or a dispute, identify the exact election first because the requirements, responsible body, deadlines and available remedies change by election type.