Ivory Coast Reassures Citizens After Accusations of Coup Plot

(Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast’s government told citizens “to go about their business freely and have a pleasant holiday season” as it sought the arrest of former rebel leader Guillaume Soro for preparing a coup.

In a statement made on Friday, the government acknowledged the arrest warrant against Soro issued by the judiciary and condemned practices to plunge the country “back into the painful past.”

Soro, 47, is being sought for allegedly endangering state security, embezzlement of public funds and money laundering. A group of opposition parties said in a press conference Friday that the charges were “unjustified” and risked raising tensions ahead of elections next year.

The world’s top cocoa grower issued the arrest warrant earlier this week just as he was due back in the country after spending several months abroad drumming up support for his political movement. The move sent New York cocoa futures up the most in more than a month.

Soro has been a dominant figure in the West African nation’s political landscape for nearly two decades, having been prime minister in a power-sharing government under Laurent Gbagbo. He then sided with Alassane Ouattara in a 2010-2011 post-election conflict before becoming speaker of parliament, from which he resigned after falling out with the president.

The most social-media savvy of the country’s politicians, Soro announced he would be streaming a live address to the Ivorian nation on New Year’s Eve in a timeslot usually taken by the president.

To contact the reporter on this story: Leanne de Bassompierre in Abidjan at ldebassompie@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Andre Janse van Vuuren at ajansevanvuu@bloomberg.net, Andrew Reierson, Neil Chatterjee

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.