Democracy and Elections in Côte d’Ivoire: Findings from a March 2012 Post-Election Public Opinion Survey

In March 2012, IFES conducted a study in partnership with WANEP-CI, an Ivoirian organization that facilitates cooperation and information sharing among local organizations. This survey sought to gauge citizen opinions and perceptions of themes related to democracy, elections and institutions.

The survey found that Ivoirians are both satisfied and dissatisfied with the current political situation in nearly equal proportions, but broadly, they are optimistic there will be improvement. Concurrently, Ivoirian citizens feel interested, but not involved, in politics.

Survey findings also indicate a wide reach of voter education campaigns prior to the December 2011 legislative elections. Nearly three-quarters of Ivoirians say they heard or saw advertisements, posters or other sources of information on procedural issues, such as where to vote, and campaigns encouraging people to vote.

In contrast to the current low political representation of women, a large majority of Ivoirians say they support women in various political roles such as mayors, deputies in the National Assembly, political party members, political party leaders andPresident of Côte d’Ivoire, with little variation in opinion by gender.

Read more about these findings and others here.