Côte d’Ivoire: “Tidjane Thiam Was in France Without Ivorian Papers,” Says Cissé Bacongo

In Côte d’Ivoire, during a rally in Yamoussoukro on Saturday, Cissé Bacongo, Executive Secretary of the RHDP, stated that President Alassane Ouattara was unaware that Tidjane Thiam had lost his Ivorian nationality when he ordered the issuance of a passport for him at the Ivorian embassy in Paris.

Speaking on the controversy surrounding Tidjane Thiam’s removal from the electoral roll, Cissé Bacongo clarified that President Ouattara had, in 2022, instructed officials to issue a passport to the former CEO of Credit Suisse, not knowing that Thiam had acquired French nationality upon reaching adulthood.

“Tidjane Thiam was in France without Ivorian documents, holding only French nationality. Had the President known he had lost his Ivorian citizenship, he would have advised him differently,” Bacongo added.

Tidjane Thiam, the designated presidential candidate of the PDCI-RDA for the 2025 election, was recently excluded from the electoral register following a court ruling based on Article 48 of the Ivorian Nationality Code, confirming he had lost his Ivorian citizenship at the time of his voter registration.