The countdown has begun for the renewal of the governing bodies of the National Union of Journalists of Côte d'Ivoire (UNJCI). By decision no. 005/CAH-UNJCI/2026 dated Friday, May 22, 2026, the ad hoc committee officially opened the application period for the election of the next executive council.

📅 Submission schedule and procedures

Candidates have a very short window of opportunity to submit their application:

1. Period: From Friday, May 22nd to Thursday, May 28th, 2026 .
2. Opening hours: From 9am to 5pm.
3. Location: Exclusively at the Permanent Secretariat of the Ad Hoc Committee, located at the Abidjan Press House (MPA), in Plateau. A receipt will be issued for each submission.
4. Format: Applications must be submitted in the form of a closed list of 24 members .

📋 Eligibility requirements and documents to provide

For the application to be admissible, each list must provide the following information for its members:

1. A request addressed to the chairman of the ad hoc committee.
2. The complete list of 24 candidates.
3. A copy of a valid identity document.
4. The professional journalist card (CIJP) 2025 .
5. The UNJCI 2025 membership card (voting and eligibility status being conditional upon up-to-date payment of dues).
6. A declaration of eligibility for each candidate.

Specific requirement for leaders: The head of the list must prove their active and regular participation in UNJCI activities over the past three years.

🚫 Rejection criteria and representativeness

The ad hoc committee will be uncompromising in its adherence to the regulations. The following will be automatically rejected:

1. Incomplete files or files that do not comply with the Union's statutes.
2. Applications deemed ineligible (according to articles 28, 30 and 32).
3. Lists that do not respect the editorial diversity of Ivorian media, as required by article 29 of the internal regulations.

🔍 Next steps in the process

Once the submission period closes, the ad hoc committee will review the applications before publishing a provisional list . Candidates will then have 48 hours to file any appeals. Only after these appeals have been processed will the final list of candidates be officially released.

This decision takes effect immediately.