The China Mail - I.Coast's barred opposition leader says is party's only presidential candidate

Tensions in the west African country are running high, with Thiam the latest of several prominent figures, including former president Laurent Gbagbo, to have been barred from running.

An Abidjan court on Tuesday said Thiam, who was formally named the candidate of the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI) last week, had been removed from the electoral list because he had lost Ivorian nationality when he acquired French citizenship in 1987.

The decision, which cannot be appealed, rules him out of standing in the October 25 presidential vote.

"It's me or no one. We will not present another candidate," Thiam said in a telephone interview, adding he intended to take his case to the court of the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS.

"We will go to ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States), we have the right," he said.

"And we are going to continue to fight on the ground and to show those in power that this is a decision that is bad for Ivory Coast," Thiam told AFP.

He said being on the electoral list was "an absolutely fundamental right. It's a question of human rights".

Questions over his nationality have plagued the 62-year-old former international banker's campaign for several months.

- Slammed as 'political' -

Born in Ivory Coast, he acquired French nationality in 1987 but gave it up in March to stand in the election, as candidates cannot have dual nationality.

His opponents, however, have invoked article 48 of the country's nationality code, dating from the 1960s, which states that the acquisition of another nationality means Ivorian citizenship is lost.

"I maintain that this law has not been enforced in 64 years," Thiam said.

"Every day there are Ivorians who take another nationality for varied reasons, and so what this law tells us is that without a process, they lost their nationality, without being informed, without them knowing," he added.

Thiam's supporters have condemned the ruling as "political" and aimed at barring him from the election. But the ruling party says it was not involved in the decision.

His legal woes in Ivory Coast are not yet over. On Thursday, the Abidjan court is due to rule in another case linked to his nationality.

A supporter of his PDCI party contests his legitimacy as head of the party.

Other presidential candidates also removed from the race include Gbagbo, the president from 2000 until his arrest in 2011, his former right-hand man Charles Ble Goude and exiled former prime minister and rebel leader Guillaume Soro, all based on judicial rulings.

The ruling Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) party has yet to nominate its candidate for the October race.

But it has called for 83-year-old President Alassane Ouattara, in power since 2011, to run for a fourth term. The party will hold a congress in June.

K.Leung--ThChM