Cause 1
A partisan composition
Parties and the administration sat in the institution. Each camp defended its own interests there and the majority had a built-in advantage: the referee was also a player.
Photo: URD
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Electoral reform · URD proposal
A single, independent and neutral electoral institution
Following the dissolution of the Independent Electoral Commission on 6 May 2026, the URD proposes entrusting the entire electoral chain to a single institution, led by civil society figures chosen in full public view. The proposal was handed to the Minister of the Interior and Security on 2 October 2026.
1institution for the whole electoral chainProposal
9 to 11members drawn from civil societyProposal
6public steps to appoint themProposal
4recommendations for peaceful electionsProposal
Background
Why the CEI has always been a source of conflict
Since it was created by Law No. 2001-634 of 9 October 2001, the Independent Electoral Commission has never won the trust of all political actors. The URD identifies five causes of this failure; a new institution will only be credible if it corrects all of them at once.
Cause 2
Independence in name only
The institution depended on the executive for its budget and on the territorial administration for its operations.
Cause 3
A disputed voters' roll
Without a regular independent audit, every revision raised suspicions of irregular registrations or exclusions.
Cause 4
Unverifiable results
Polling-station tally sheets were not systematically published, station by station, which prevented any citizen oversight.
Cause 5
A legitimacy conflict with the electoral judge
The 2010-2011 crisis, born of contradictory announcements by the CEI and the Constitutional Council, cost the lives of more than 3,000 Ivorians.
The URD's position
Three bodies, or one institution responsible for everything?
On 22 June 2026, the Prime Minister presented an architecture based on three separate bodies: the practical organisation of elections, voter registration and vote compilation, and supervision and oversight. The URD cannot endorse it as it stands and proposes a single institution covering all these areas under one accountable authority.
| Issue | Three-body architecture | Single institution proposed by the URD |
|---|---|---|
| Accountability | Diluted: each body can blame another for a failure. | Clear: one authority answers for the whole chain, from registration to the announcement of provisional results. |
| Appointments | Three sets of appointments, hence three opportunities for suspicion. | A single appointment procedure, public and open to citizen scrutiny. |
| Coordination | A continuous electoral chain broken into links, with grey areas between them. | Specialised departments within one institution, under a single board. |
| Method | Plan submitted without prior formal political dialogue. | Adoption preceded by an inclusive dialogue bringing together the government, parties, civil society and religious authorities. |
Principles
Four pillars
Pillar 1
Independence and neutrality
Guaranteed by the Constitution and by law: the institution takes instructions from no authority.
Pillar 2
Legal, administrative and financial autonomy
Under the supervision of no ministry, with its own budget set in the finance act and audited by the Court of Auditors.
Pillar 3
Leadership drawn from civil society
Figures recognised for their integrity, competence and probity.
Pillar 4
Neither parties nor the administration in decision-making
No representative of the parties, the executive or the administration sits on the decision-making body; state officials provide technical support only.
Composition
Two distinct levels
Deciding and executing are two separate functions. Seconded state officials report to the institution for the whole duration of their secondment and take no instructions from their home administration.
| Level | Who sits there | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Decision-making board | Civil society figures only | Decides, approves the voters' roll, announces provisional results |
| Technical services | Seconded state officials and neutral technicians recruited by competitive examination | Carry out operations under the sole authority of the board |
The board
Nine to eleven members, who elect their own chair
The board brings together complementary profiles, chosen for their competence and independence. Balanced representation of women is ensured.
At the end of the appointment procedure, the members themselves elect the institution’s chair from among their number. The chair’s legitimacy comes neither from the Head of State, nor from the government, nor from the political parties, but from their peers — which strengthens both their independence and the board’s cohesion.
- Lawyers and legal experts
- Academics: public law, political science, demography, statistics
- Experts in information systems and data security
- Civil society organisations specialising in election observation and human rights
- Representatives of religious communities
- Chartered accountants or auditors
IllustrationPhoto: Andrea Qoqonga / Unsplash
The game-changing measure
Public hearings for members above all suspicion
For more than twenty years, CEI members were appointed behind closed doors, after bargaining between parties and institutions. Citizens discovered their names in the Official Gazette without knowing anything about their backgrounds or their convictions.
The URD proposes to break with this practice: no member of the future electoral institution could be appointed without first being heard in public. Transparency should not begin on election day, but as soon as those who organise the vote are chosen.
IllustrationPhoto: Thomas Delacrétaz / Unsplash
IllustrationPhoto: The Climate Reality Project / Unsplash
A six-step process
From the first call for applications to the appointment, every step is public and reasoned.
Step 1
Public call for applications
Published in the Official Gazette, in the press and in public media, with objective criteria: integrity, recognised competence, experience, no party membership or government post in the preceding years.
Step 2
Independent shortlisting
A committee made up of the President of the Court of Cassation, the Ombudsman of the Republic and the President of the Bar checks eligibility and draws up a shortlist.
Step 3
Publication of applications
Each candidate’s CV, declaration of interests and cover letter are made public; citizens, civil society and the press can report possible conflicts of interest.
Step 4
Public hearings
Each candidate is heard by a balanced panel, live on television, radio and online, and also answers questions from the public.
Step 5
Approval by a qualified majority
Selected members must win a broad majority, so that no camp can impose its choices alone; the reasons for each decision are published.
Step 6
Appointment without changes
Appointment is made by decree, with no possibility for the executive to change the selected list. The board then elects its chair.
During the hearings
What each candidate will have to demonstrate
Competence
To manage an operation as complex as a national election.
Independence
From parties, the government and economic interests.
Knowledge of Ivorian issues
From the voters’ roll to electoral disputes.
The ability to resist pressure
Wherever it comes from.
Why this measure
Referees chosen in full public view
Trust before the first vote
Ivorians will know who referees their elections and why they were chosen.
Fewer token applications
Someone without real competence, or tied to one camp, will find it hard to get through a public hearing.
Commitments on the record
Public statements of independence will remain on record and can be recalled throughout the term of office.
IllustrationPhoto: Wesley Tingey / Unsplash
Members' status
Independence protected by status
A sound appointment process is worthless if members’ status does not protect it. The URD proposal sets strict safeguards before, during and after the term of office.
- A single, non-renewable term of six or seven years
- Partial renewal of the board, so that no single authority appoints all the members
- Security of tenure, except for serious misconduct established by a court
- No party membership or administrative or government post in the five years before appointment
- No candidacy or political office in the five years after the end of the term
- Asset declarations on entry and exit
Remit
The whole electoral chain, from registration to results
The single institution takes on all the tasks currently spread across several actors.
| Task | Content |
|---|---|
| Organising elections | Logistics, polling stations, staff training, calendar, announcement of provisional results |
| Revising the voters' roll | An effective annual revision, registration of new adults and of the diaspora, reasoned removals |
| Auditing the voters' roll | An independent, adversarial audit before each national vote |
| Electoral boundaries | Proposing balanced constituencies based on public demographic criteria |
| Civic education | Ongoing awareness-raising among citizens, especially young people and women |
| Voter participation | Automatic registration at 18 and, eventually, compulsory voting |
Participation
Bringing every citizen into democratic life
The final 2025 voters’ roll counted 8,727,431 registered voters Published figure, for a population of about 29.4 million at the 2021 census To be confirmed with the INS. Even allowing for minors, a large share of Ivorians of voting age are not registered.
The URD proposes two steps: automatic registration of every citizen on coming of age, using civil registration and identification data; then, once registration is effective, compulsory voting introduced gradually, with justified exemptions and symbolic penalties.
The institution will also propose electoral boundaries based on published demographic criteria, revised after each census and submitted to the parties for their opinion before being adopted by law.
IllustrationPhoto: Eva Blue / Unsplash
Safeguards
Every citizen must be able to check the results
An irreproachable composition is not enough. The proposal makes every step verifiable.
Tally sheets published
Every polling-station tally sheet is scanned and published online in real time; no result can be announced unless it matches their exact total.
An open voters' roll
The provisional roll is online and posted at every polling place, with enough time to file claims and reasoned removals.
Financial autonomy
Its own budget voted in the finance act, paid on a legal timetable and audited by the Court of Auditors.
Permanent dialogue with the parties
A consultation framework in which parties are informed, consulted and have access to data, without sitting or voting on the decision-making body.
Clear dispute resolution
Only the institution announces provisional results; the Constitutional Council rules on the basis of the published tally sheets and gives public reasons for any annulment.
Stable rules
No substantial change to electoral law in the six months before a vote without broad consensus, in line with the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001).
IllustrationPhoto: Teemu Paananen / Unsplash
Four recommendations for peaceful elections
The first is the condition for all the others.
Step 1
Open an inclusive political dialogue
Before any vote in Parliament, bring the government, all parties, civil society and religious authorities together around the plan.
Step 2
Audit the voters' roll
Entrust independent experts with a full audit to correct its anomalies and ensure a calm climate.
Step 3
Review electoral boundaries
Correct the imbalances between constituencies’ populations and the number of seats they are allocated.
Step 4
Revise the voters' roll every year
Make the annual revision a legal obligation, scheduled and funded.
Timeline
The 2026 reform, step by step
Public facts, each linked to its source (in French).
| Date | Step | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 6 May 2026 | The Council of Ministers dissolves the Independent Electoral Commission. | Fraternité Matin, 22/06/2026 |
| 8 May 2026 | The URD welcomes the dissolution and calls for a body entrusted to civil society. | Ouestaf, 08/05/2026 |
| 22 June 2026 | The Prime Minister presents a three-body architecture. | AIP, 22/06/2026 |
| 2 October 2026 | The URD President hands the party's proposal to the Minister of the Interior and Security. | Official URD report |
| 5 October 2026 | Several opposition parties hand the government a joint text on the future body. | Fraternité Matin, 05/10/2026 |
Parliamentary timetable for the reform: [not published to date]. This timeline will be updated at each step.
URD proposal
Côte d’Ivoire has paid too heavy a price for electoral crises to settle for a cosmetic reform. The aim is simple: after every election, the winner must be recognised and the loser must know why they lost.
Reference document
Read the full proposal
The full text of the URD proposal — diagnosis, architecture, members’ status, remit, safeguards and recommendations — can be downloaded as a PDF (in French).
IllustrationPhoto: Abubakar Balogun / Unsplash