Ivory Coast's ruling party increases its majority in weekend vote

By Ange Aboa

ABIDJAN, Dec ⁠30 (Reuters) - Ivory ⁠Coast's ‍ruling party increased its majority in parliament in elections held at the weekend, while the main ‍opposition party, led by former Credit Suisse CEO ​Tidjane Thiam, lost half of its seats, provisional results showed.

The strong showing ​for the Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace, or RHDP, should make it easier for President Alassane Ouattara to implement his agenda ​that includes luring private investment to French-speaking West Africa's largest economy, the world's biggest cocoa grower.

Ouattara, an 83-year-old ​former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund who secured a fourth ‌term in October, has also said he would use his mandate to prepare the way for ​a new generation of political leaders.

The ⁠RHDP took 197 of 255 seats in the National Assembly in Saturday's elections, according to ‌provisional results announced on Monday by the electoral commission, up from 163.

Thiam's Democratic Party of Ivory Coast, or PDCI, won 32 ‌seats, down from 65, while independent candidates won 23 seats.

Voter turnout ‌was 35.04%, down from 37.88% during the last legislative elections in 2021.

Ouattara first came to power in 2011 after a four-month war.

He was ‍re-elected with more than 89% of the vote in the presidential contest on October 25 ⁠in which Thiam and former President Laurent Gbagbo were barred from running.

Gbagbo's party boycotted this year's legislative elections, saying they would not be credible.

(Writing by Ayen Deng Bior and Robbie Corey-Boulet; Editing by Barbara Lewis)

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