Malheureusement, ce numéro de la revue de presse n’est actuellement disponible qu’en allemand et en anglais.
Tensions between government and opposition in Côte d’Ivoire
On Sunday, the Parti Démocratique de Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI), one of the country’s largest opposition parties, reported the arrest of eight of its members in Abidjan. A demonstration was supposed to take place in the city the day before, protesting the Constitutional Council’s decision to exclude several opposition candidates from the presidential election on October 25. Among the candidates excluded from the election are Tidjane Thiam of the PDCI and former President Laurent Gbagbo of the Parti des Peuples Africains – Côte d’Ivoire (PPA). The demonstration was, however, postponed by one week after the National Security Council issued a ban on protests against decisions of the Constitutional Council on October 2. Since no legal remedy is permitted against the Council’s ruling, any challenge would constitute a violation of the law, according to the official statement. The government of President Alassane Ouattara also justified the ban on demonstrations by referring to efforts to combat disinformation and hate speech online. Despite the ban, the PDCI and PPA, which have now joined forces to form the Front Commun alliance, are still planning to hold their demonstration on October 11, hoping to secure the approval of their presidential candidates after all.
In early September, the Constitutional Council announced that it would allow a total of five candidates to run in the presidential election, including incumbent Ouattara, who is seeking a controversial fourth term. The opposition candidates are former First Lady Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, former Minister of Trade and PDCI dissident Jean-Louis Billon, Ahoua Don Mello, and Henriette Lagou. The exclusion of the two most promising opposition candidates, Thiam and Laurent Gbagbo, was based on their previous removal from the electoral register – in Thiam’s case because of his dual citizenship, and in Gbagbo’s case because of a previous criminal conviction and the revocation of his political rights. Neither of them has yet publicly endorsed any of the remaining opposition candidates. There are therefore no signs of a consolidation of forces within the opposition camp to increase the chances of a runoff against President Ouattara. According to electoral law, an absolute majority is required to win the election in the first round – if this is not achieved, a second round of voting will follow.
In recent weeks, there have been repeated arrests of members of the PDCI and the PPA. On September 30, for example, the two deputy secretaries-general of the PDCI, Blaise Lasm and Nestor Dahi, were arrested. They are accused of inciting insurrection and undermining state authority. Government spokesperson Amadou Coulibaly rejected the accusation of a political motive and referred to the ongoing investigations. According to reports, pressure on the media is also increasing in the run-up to the election. Two weeks ago, prosecutor Braman Oumar Konè warned social media administrators, bloggers, and editors against spreading malicious comments and misinformation.
The election on October 25, in which political participation and the economic situation play a major role, is considered to be a test for the stability of democracy in Côte d’Ivoire. Following violent clashes during previous elections, the government plans to deploy around 45,000 security forces to ensure that the elections proceed peacefully. Parliamentary elections are also scheduled for December 27. The elections are also being closely watched internationally, particularly by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union. Côte d’Ivoire is considered to play a key role in the fight against terrorism and in the economic stability of West Africa. Recently, there has also been increasing tensions with the military government in neighboring Burkina Faso, a member of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
Rwanda receives €18 million grant from Germany
On Monday, German Ambassador Heike Uta Dettmann and Rwandan Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Yusuf Murangwa signed a financing agreement worth €18 million. The funds are to be provided by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and used as part of initiatives under Rwanda’s Umurenge Programme (VUP) to strengthen an inclusive social system in Rwanda. The financing is intended in particular to address challenges at the local level and support various initiatives such as nutrition programmes, cash transfers, public works measures and the expansion of crisis-resilient social protection systems. Implementation will be carried out by the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA). In recent years, Rwanda has significantly intensified its social protection and poverty reduction measures. As a result, the East African country has managed to more than halve its poverty rate from 58.9% in 2001 to 27.4% in 2024 within two decades.
The agreement had already been concluded in its fundamental principles long before the suspension of new commitments in German development cooperation on March 4 of this year, a spokesperson for the German Embassy in Kigali told the Kenyan weekly newspaper The East African. At that time, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) announced that it would restrict bilateral cooperation with Rwanda, suspend new financial commitments and review all ongoing programmes (Press Review CW 10/2025). This decision was made in response to Rwanda’s role in the conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Rwanda is accused of supporting the M23 rebel militia in its operations to expand its control over the provinces of North Kivu and South Kivu in the DRC and of having been directly involved in fighting against DRC government troops. Germany strongly condemned the actions of the M23 and the Rwandan Defence Forces (RDF) and summoned the Rwandan ambassador to Berlin. Kigali, in turn, criticised Germany’s decision as ‘politicising development cooperation’, which was ‘wrong and counterproductive’, and denied any support for the M23.
Meanwhile, Rwanda and the DRC signed a peace agreement on 27 June 2025, brokered by the US (Press Review CW 27/2025). Within the framework of the International Contact Group for the Great Lakes Region (ICG) – a multilateral platform for promoting peace and stability in the region – Germany welcomed the agreement between the two parties. Further peace negotiations between Kinshasa and the M23, led by Qatar, are still ongoing.
In other news
On Wednesday, the Tate Modern in London opened the art exhibition “Nigerian Modernism: Art and Independence.” On display are paintings, sculptures, ceramics, textiles, and installations by around 50 renowned artists, including Ben Enwonwu, Aina Onabolu, and Ladi Kwali. The more than 250 works of art were created between 1910 and the 1990s and show how an independent modern art movement developed amid the tensions of colonialism, independence, and postcolonial identity formation. Thematically, the show addresses, among other things, the role of colonial art education, the concept of natural synthesis, the influence of the Biafran War (1967–1970), and the revival of traditional Igbo Uli motifs by the renowned Nsukka Art School. The exhibition is curated by Osei Bonsu and Bilal Akkouche. Bonsu explains that the exhibition reflects the diversity of Nigerian art, which draws on many different ethnic influences and historical experiences and has had a significant impact on the artists’ forms of expression. The exhibition will be open until May 10 next year.
Event notice
On October 31 at 7 PM, the exhibition « SHEROS. Comic Art from Africa » will open at the Weltkulturen Museum in Frankfurt am Main. Running until August 2026, the exhibition offers insights into Africa’s vibrant comic art scene. At its core is the diversity of female protagonists – from women navigating everyday urban life to superheroines fighting against environmental disasters. The exhibition also pays tribute to the artists behind the comics, who use their work to explore everyday and social issues across the African continent.