Ivory Coast opposition leader Thiam barred from presidential ballot

Former Credit Suisse CEO and opposition leader Tidjane Thiam, along with three other opposition candidates, has been excluded from Ivory Coast’s final list of presidential candidates, the electoral commission announced. Thiam, who holds dual Ivorian-French nationality, was deemed ineligible to run by a court earlier this year. The decision, which Thiam plans to challenge, was enforced by the electoral commission. Thiam won his party’s primary uncontested and was expected to be the main rival to President Alassane Ouattara. Other notable opposition candidates excluded from the ballot are former president Laurent Gbagbo, his ally Charles Ble Goude, and former prime minister Guillaume Soro. Thiam’s camp has not yet provided a response.