At a lively press conference held on Wednesday, May 13th, at the party headquarters in Cocody, PDCI-RDA spokesperson Bredoumy Soumaïla Kouassi sought to reassure party members. Faced with internal turmoil, the historic party reaffirmed its strength and its determination to regain state power.

"The PDCI-RDA remains standing for the reconquest of power," Bredoumy Soumaïla declared from the outset.

The spokesperson was keen to emphasize the historical resilience of the "old party." From the upheavals of multi-party politics in 1990 to the coup d'état of 1999, and through recent crises, the institution has survived all attempts at destabilization.

“We are here, and we will always be here,” he insisted, sending a thinly veiled barb to his opponents: “We have no intention of turning our activists into political exiles or refugees.” For him, the objective remains unchanged: to govern again in order to ensure “the progress of all and the happiness of each individual.”

Electoral reform: The PDCI demands a credible transition after the dissolution of the IEC

Addressing the pressing issue of the dissolution of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the PDCI-RDA acknowledges the change but sets its conditions. A mere cosmetic change is out of the question: the party demands a thorough overhaul of the electoral system.

The party's demands:

1. A broad national consultation is needed before the creation of the new electoral body.
2. Strict respect for the separation of powers and freedom of political expression.
3. The immediate opening of an inclusive political dialogue bringing together the government, the opposition, civil society and electoral experts.

Bredoumy Soumaïla strongly criticized the past management, denouncing the freezing of the electoral calendar for 2026 and the lack of revision of the electoral list in 2025, which is required by law.

Economy and Social Issues: The 2026-2030 National Development Plan (PND) described as "an illusion"

The government's proposed National Development Plan (NDP) for 2026-2030 also came under fire. The PDCI-RDA sees it as an unsustainable economic equation that risks suffocating the population.

1. Tax pressure: The party fears a massive increase in taxes on households and businesses to finance this plan.
2. The fight against poverty: The government's objective of reducing the poverty rate from 37.7% to 20% by 2030 has been deemed unrealistic. "The government wants to achieve in a few years what it hasn't managed to accomplish in fourteen," the spokesperson quipped.

Education, Employment, Agriculture: An official assessment severely criticized

The spokesperson delivered a detailed indictment of the current sectoral policy:

1. Education in decline: The average level of schooling has collapsed, falling from 6 years in 1999 to just 4.2 years in 2025, without any concrete solutions being proposed.
2. Unemployment underestimated: The government promises the creation of 3 million jobs, whereas the PDCI estimates the country's real needs at between 5 and 6 million positions.
3. Rural crisis: Between low agricultural productivity and the ravages of illegal gold mining on land and waterways, the peasant world is suffocating.

Faced with these emergencies, the PDCI-RDA calls on the government to thoroughly revise its plan in order to realign the National Development Plan with the realities of Ivorians, with a view to transparency and financial sovereignty.