The Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the body responsible for organizing elections in Ivory Coast, has been dissolved. The information was announced on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, by the government spokesperson. The news prompted a reaction from Danièle Boni-Claverie, president of the URD party.

  "The URD acknowledges this dissolution. For the moment, we cannot describe this decision as good or bad."

"The form that the new IEC will take will allow a judgment to be made," said the president of the URD.

According to the government spokesperson, this dissolution is mainly due to three reasons.

Firstly, this is the "end of the electoral cycle with the legislative elections of December 27, 2025".

Secondly, there are "the reservations raised about the institution." And thirdly, "the criticisms it has been subjected to," quoted Minister Amadou Coulibaly.

The URD says it "takes note that the government justifies this dissolution by citing numerous criticisms made by the opposition."

But "to what extent will these criticisms meet the requirements of neutrality, impartiality and transparency?", asks the president of the URD.

Since 2020, says Danièle Boni-Claverie, the opposition has made proposals and renewed them in 2025 so that this institution would be entrusted to civil society.

For now, there is no indication of the future format of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). But according to the president of the URD, "rumors suggest that it could eventually be placed under the Ministry of the Interior."

Anything that leads him to refrain from making a judgment.

"But I want to tell you that we will not miss this IEC which has imposed its bias and lack of neutrality on us for decades.

"Let's wait and see what proposals the government will make, and especially how it will create a credible institution above suspicion," concludes Danièle Bonie-Claverie.