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UPDATE: FRIDAY 17 2025: 'Political tensions are escalating in the country as the headquarters of former President Laurent Gbagbo's political party was surrounded by security forces, leading to an immediate rally of his supporters around the building to ensure his safety and exit (Wednesday). Early Thursday morning, an order was given by an influential member of his party calling on the coalition of opposition parties and all Ivorians to take to the streets, intensify the blockade of roads in lawful resistance against President Alassane Ouattara’s bid for a contested fourth term,' a source in Abidjan informed CocoaRadar.
With daily protests rocking Abidjan and a fiercely contested presidential election looming, cocoa buyers and investors are nervously eyeing Côte d’Ivoire. The West African country supplies approximately 40% of the world’s cocoa, making political stability in its ports and plantations crucial to global chocolate supply chains.
Recent rallies sparked by the disqualification of key opposition candidates—including Tidjane Thiam and former president Laurent Gbagbo—have rekindled memories of 2020, when election violence halved port deliveries and rattled commodity markets.