THE re-election of Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara for a third term bid and his maintenance as head of state is likely to lead to a civil war, opposition parties and political groups in the country have stated in a communiqué released on Monday.

On Tuesday, 78-year-old Ouattara who has served as president of Côte d’Ivoire since 2010, was declared the winner of the controversial election marred by violence, after garnering 94.27 percent of the vote in the first round at a participation rate of 53.90 percent.

But his re-election has been rejected by major opposition political parties, who withdrew their participation from the election and promoted civil disobedience.

Pascal Affi N’Guessan, former Prime Minister and spokesperson for the political parties and groups of the opposition, stated in a press release that majority of Ivorians followed the civil disobedience slogan launched on September 20 and boycotted the election.

He added that the electoral body only succeeded in getting eight percent of the electorate to vote – a reality he explained has outlawed and called to question the victory of Ouattara, who only started seeking a third term in August, following the death Amadou Gon Coulibaly, the initial presidential candidate of Rally of the Republicans (RDR), a liberal party in Ivory Coast.

N’Guessan submits that at least 90 percent of Ivorians reject the ‘the illegal and unconstitutional candidacy of Ouattara’, whose third term in office is unconstitutional as the law permits a cycle of two five-year terms for presidents.

The opposition political groups have also called for a National Transitional Council, to be chaired by Henri Konan Bedie, President of the PDCI-RDA and of the CDRP platform, who it says will prepare ‘the framework for the organization of the fair, transparent and inclusive presidential election; convene the national meeting for national reconciliation with a view to the return to a definitive peace in Côte d’Ivoire.’

The group has also called for the set up of a transitional government but the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) party argued that it was too early to form one in the current environment, saying a civil disobedience movement is enough to force Ouattara to negotiate in a legal manner.

In addition, maintenance of Ouattara in office could lead to instability despite his efforts in bringing infrastructure projects and economic growth in the country, known to be the world’s top cocoa producer – a development that has earned him commendation among supporters, the group said.

Many fear that post-election violence is looming. Already, no fewer than 30 persons have been killed in pre-election clashes, according to local authorities, with concern that a repeat of 2010 and 2011, a period that recorded the deaths of some 3,000 people from months of post-election violence could re-occur.