Ivory Coast opposition denounces 'arbitrary arrest' of 6 party members

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DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — One of the main opposition parties in Ivory Coast has denounced what it says are “arbitrary arrests” of six party members, calling the arrests part of a broader crackdown following the disqualification of key rivals to President Alassane Ouattara and his bid for a fourth term.

Sébastien Dano Djédjé, the executive president of the African Peoples’ Party–Côte d’Ivoire, or PPA-CI, the party of former President Laurent Gbagbo, said during a news conference Sunday that the party members were “abducted and taken to unknown locations” overnight from Saturday to Sunday.

Among them are party members from Youpougon, a suburb of the capital Abdijan, where armed attackers torched a bus and assaulted police days before, he said.

Interior Minister Vagondo Diomandé released a video to a televion news broadcast Sunday showing a man identifying himself as a PPA-CI member confessing involvement in the attack and saying he acted on the party's behalf with 15 others.

The confession was obtained legally, Diomandé said, rebuffing PPA-CI claims that party members were illegally arrested.

“In our country, no arrests are made arbitrarily,” he said. “The ministry ensures due legal proceedings for all offenses, ending the era of summary and arbitrary detentions that once marred our nation.”

The PPA-CI condemned the bus attack and denied involvement.

Ivory Coast is set to hold a presidential election Oct. 12. Ouattara, who has been in power since 2011, is likely to stay in office with little or no challenge from a weakened opposition.

Dissent has grown in the West African nation, fueled by the exclusion of main opposition candidates from the voter roll, including the PPA-CI's Laurent Gbabgo and the president's most prominent rival, Tidjane Thiam.

Ivory Coast elections have previously been fraught with tension and violence. When Ouattara announced his bid for a third term in 2020, several people were killed in the ensuing violence.