Only 164 out of 1,432 vote in Ivorian presidential election in Ghana

The Ivorian presidential election held on October 25 at the Ivorian Embassy in Accra recorded an exceptionally low voter turnout.

Out of 1,432 registered voters across Ghana, only 164 people cast their ballots.

Four polling stations were set up in Accra and one in Kumasi to serve Ivorians living in Ghana.

However, election officials and party agents expressed disappointment as participation remained low throughout the day.

Many attributed the poor turnout to the absence of registered voters who are students believed to have travelled home to Côte d’Ivoire for vacation.

Before counting began, officials verified the ballots against the voter list and found a slight mismatch between the number of votes cast and the number of verified voters.

This delayed the collation process. After discussions, party agents and electoral officers agreed to exclude four disputed ballots to maintain transparency.

When counting was completed, incumbent President Alassane Ouattara led with 88 votes, representing 56.66 percent of valid ballots.

Simone Ehivet Gbagbo followed with 15 votes, Don-Mello Jacob received 10, Lagou Adjoua Henriette secured 2, and Billon Jean Eugene had 8. A total of 41 blank ballots were recorded, making up 25 percent of votes cast.

“The turnout was disappointing, but the process remained peaceful and transparent,” said an electoral officer at the embassy.

The election was supervised by the diplomatic representative of the Ivorian Electoral Commission.

The results have been transmitted to Abidjan for manual verification as part of the final national tally, highlighting low engagement among Ivorians living abroad.