Ivory Coast will hold its presidential elections in October 2025, followed by legislative elections in 2026. These major events present crucial challenges for consolidating democracy and peace, given the political violence that followed the 2020 elections.

The dynamics analysis carried out by Interpeace and Indigo Côte d'Ivoire, with the support of the SeeD institute through the SCORE Index and consultations with populations and key actors in several districts of Côte d'Ivoire, shows that the episodes of political violence are the result of a widespread crisis of trust, both between the different communities and between the authorities and the population.

It is characterised by the low civic engagement of populations in general and especially young people, human rights violations (physical violence, attacks on freedom of opinion or expression), the weakness of community early warning and rapid response mechanisms, as well as the failure of implementation of the mandate of some institutions in charge of electoral processes and preventing violence.

Risks of violence are exacerbated by widespread misinformation, especially on social media and messaging, and a lack of media literacy skills.

The peaceful nature of the electoral process is strongly dependent on appropriate preventive actions implemented upstream in response to anticipated risks.

It is in this logic that Interpeace and its national partner Indigo Côte d'Ivoire, with the technical and financial support of the European Union, are implementing the project “Strengthening community mechanisms for preventive monitoring and rapid response to the risk of electoral violence in Côte d’Ivoire” (PREVEL).

It focuses on strengthening the prevention mechanisms established by various state and non-state initiatives, including community-based ones, within the most affected areas by engineering collaborative frameworks. It also provides a thorough and localised analysis of the dynamics that can lead to political violence, from a perspective of anticipation and preventive action. Finally, it supports community dynamics as well as state institutions in the establishment of a coherent peace infrastructure and the effective implementation of violence prevention actions. This approach is intended to prevent the transformation of divisions between supporters of different political leaders into community conflicts in a sustainable way.