More than 200 people were detained in Abidjan on Saturday after security forces fired tear gas to disperse an opposition protest, as Ivorian leader Alassane Ouattara launched his campaign for a fourth term.Outtara is widely expected to win after his two main rivals, former president Laurent Gbagbo and the head of the main opposition party, Tidjane Thiam, were barred from running in the October 25 election, heightening tensions.The authorities in Abidjan had banned Saturday’s opposition protest on the grounds of the need to “maintain public order”.No opposition leaders were seen at the march, but several groups took to the streets in several neighbourhoods, calling for democracy and opposing Ouattara’s candidacy.Security forces dispersed the crowds several times with tear gas and by midday, 237 people had been arrested, Interior Minister Vagondo Diomande said, calling the protest unauthorised.One woman told AFP: “I came to demonstrate this morning because I’m tired of this country. His time has come, he (Ouattara) just has to leave.”Security forces assaulted journalists covering the protest, seized equipment and deleted images.The head of Thiam’s Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) in parliament, Simon Doho, told AFP the arrests were “arbitrary” and were a “serious risk to the stability of the country”.”What we want for our country is democracy, freedom of expression, to vote, the participation of all candidates, and transparent elections,” he added.The executive secretary of Gbagbo’s African People’s Party Ivory Coast (PPA-CI), Sebastien Djedje, said peace was being “imposed by weapons”.- Campaign trail -Some 300 kilometres (186 miles) away to the northwest, there was a festive atmosphere in the city of Daloa, where Ouattara launched his re-election campaign.”I love this Ivory Coast that unites women and men from different communities,” the 83-year-old president said, addressing the crowd of cheering supporters at the Daloa regional stadium.Heavy downpour failed to dampen spirits at the rally where Mamadou Toure, spokesperson for the ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party, urged people to “vote for stability, peace, and continuity.”Four candidates stand between Ouattara and his dream of a fourth term, whose legality the president’s opponents have questioned. Among them, two former allies of Gbagbo, his ex-wife Simone Ehivet Gbagbo and former minister Ahoua Don Mello, launched their campaigns on Saturday.Henriette Lagou, who was a candidate in 2015, will also meet supporters on Monday in the city of Daoukro.Meanwhile, former trade minister Jean-Louis Billon, who broke away from Thiam’s opposition party over a leadership dispute, held his first rally on Friday in Abidjan.
