Ce qu’il faut retenir
Left-wing engineer Ahoua Don Mello, 67, startled Abidjan’s political establishment by declaring for the 25 October presidential poll without waiting for the blessing of his long-time mentor Laurent Gbagbo. His candidacy adds an unexpected third pole to a race dominated by incumbent Alassane Ouattara and the traditional opposition.
Don Mello’s 42-point platform promises a wholesale break with liberal orthodoxy: nationalising strategic sectors, ending the CFA franc, building a military-industrial complex, and channelling the cocoa economy “from beans to chocolate.” For supporters, the project embodies badly needed sovereignty; for critics, it remains an untested leap.
A technocratic maverick rooted in the Left
Born in Bongouanou, eastern Côte d’Ivoire, the civil-engineering graduate cut his teeth at Yamoussoukro’s polytechnic before obtaining a doctorate from Paris’ École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées. While in France he joined the French Communist Party, a commitment that still shapes his penchant for Mao-style collars and unapologetic talk of class struggle.
Technocratic credibility came in 2000, when President Gbagbo appointed him to head the National Bureau of Technical Studies and Development. For eleven years he oversaw roads, bridges and ports until the post-electoral crisis unseated the regime in 2011. Exile then sharpened his network from Beijing to Brasilia, paving the way for his current BRICS assignments.
Gbagbo Rift and Independent Bid
The rupture with the former head of state is as strategic as it is personal. Barred from the rolls by a criminal conviction, Gbagbo refused to nominate a surrogate. Don Mello publicly urged a “precautionary candidate.” The rebuff triggered his solo run and immediate suspension from the new African Peoples Party – Côte d’Ivoire.
His campaign insists the base was hungry for participation, not boycott. Within two weeks the team secured sponsorship signatures in 27 regions, a pace meant to counter doubts about his grassroots reach. “An alternation without an alternative means nothing,” he repeats on the trail, invoking the maxim first aired by his chief of staff.
Reimagining Abidjan’s External Partnerships
Asked whether Moscow would eclipse Paris, he replies in French: “In a multipolar world, we must develop multipolar cooperation and take the best wherever it is found” (NCI interview, 3 October). The formula encapsulates a worldview where ideological affinity meets pragmatic bargaining across Beijing’s rail yards and Ankara’s shipyards.
Yet he is careful to avoid the Sahelian rhetoric of outright rejection of the West. Instead he promises to renegotiate defence pacts with France, open tender procedures to all bidders, and judge partners by local value added. Diplomats note the stance echoes Abidjan’s own diversification efforts, but pushes them several steps further.
Economic Sovereignty at the Core
The 42 proposals read like a blueprint for state-directed industrialisation. Strategic enterprises would revert to public hands, an “Ivorian mixed economy” would nurture cooperatives, and informal traders would graduate to purpose-built commercial hubs. Above all, the abolition of the CFA franc is cast as both symbol and instrument of emancipation.
Economists caution that nationalising cocoa processing alone demands billions in plant upgrades, while a new currency needs credible reserves. Don Mello counters that the resources already exist once leakages are plugged and windfalls captured. Supporters cite his track record in infrastructure management as proof that spreadsheets, not slogans, guide the plan.
Security and Multipolar Defence Outlook
The candidate proposes terminating the long-standing defence accord with France and building a domestic arms industry capable of producing small equipment within five years. He praises Russian and Chinese offers of technology transfer, arguing that “fearing the Russians is self-intoxication; they trade like everyone else” (campaign rally, Abidjan).
Observers note the omission of the Wagner Group, whose record in Mali and Central African Republic remains controversial. His aides say the future complex would rely on professional, accountable forces and regional coordination, including a proposed security pact with Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that could supersede today’s crisis-prone ECOWAS.
What Could Happen Before 25 October
With the Constitutional Council still vetting candidatures, a negotiated merger with Simone Gbagbo’s ticket is not ruled out. Don Mello publicly calls the two visions “interchangeable,” signalling room for a united left-wing front. Such a deal could reshape a ballot many assumed would be a straight duel between Ouattara and abstention.
Failing an alliance, the independent may still tilt the vote by courting first-time urban electors sceptical of established elites. His challenge will be to scale personal aura into nationwide machinery within weeks, all while defending a programme that questions the very monetary and security architecture on which Ivory Coast has long relied.
