TITLE III. THE EXECUTIVE POWER
CHAPTER I. COMPOSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE
Article 53
The Executive is composed of the President of the Republic, the Vice President of the Republic and the Government.
CHAPTER II. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Article 54
The President of the Republic is the Head of State. He is the embodiment of national unity. He ensures respect for the Constitution. He ensures the continuity of the State. He is the guarantor of national independence, of the integrity of the territory and of respect for international commitments.
Article 55
The President of the Republic is elected for five years by direct universal suffrage. He may be re-elected only once.
He chooses a vice-president of the Republic, who is elected concurrently with him.
The candidate for the presidential election should be in possession of his civil and political rights and should be at least thirty-five years old. He must be exclusively of Ivoirian nationality, born of a father or mother who is of Ivoirian origin.
Article 56
The President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic are elected by majority list in two rounds. The election of the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic is by the absolute majority of votes cast.
The first round of voting takes place on the last Saturday of the month of October in the fifth year of the term of the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic in office.
If the absolute majority is not obtained in the first round, a second round is taken. Only the two lists of candidates with the highest number of votes cast in the first round may be presented.
The second round is held on the last Saturday of November in the fifth year of the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic in office.
The list of candidates with the highest number of votes is elected in the second round.
In case of a tie between the two lists of candidates in the second round, the list of candidates having obtained the highest number of votes cast in the first round is declared elected.
The convocation of the electors is made by decree in the Council of Ministers.
Article 57
If, before the first round, one of the candidates from a list of candidates selected by the Constitutional Council is incapacitated or dies, the Constitutional Council may declare the postponement of the election within seventy-two hours from the time of the referral by the independent Commission responsible for the elections.
In the event of the death or absolute incapacity of the candidate for the presidency of the Republic on one of the two lists of candidates who came first after the first round, the Chairman of the independent Commission responsible for the elections refers the matter to the Constitutional Council immediately, which decides, within seventy-two hours from the time of its referral, the postponement of the election.
In both cases, the election of the President of the Republic and the Vice-President of the Republic is held within a period that may not exceed thirty days from the decision of the Constitutional Council.
Article 58
After the final proclamation of the results by the Constitutional Council, the President-elect of the Republic takes the oath of office, on the Constitution before the Constitutional Council, in a formal sitting. The Vice-President of the Republic attends the swearing-in ceremony.
The swearing-in of the President-elect of the Republic takes place on the second Monday in the month of December of the fifth year of the term of the President of the Republic in office. During this public ceremony, he receives the attributes of his function and on this occasion delivers a message to the Nation.
The expression of the oath is:
“Before the sovereign people of Côte d’Ivoire, I solemnly swear and upon my honor to respect and defend the Constitution, to be the embodiment of national unity, to ensure the continuity of the State and to defend its territorial integrity, to protect the Rights and Freedoms of the citizens, to fulfill conscientiously the duties of my office in the best interests of the Nation. May the people withdraw their confidence in me, and may I be subject to the full force of the law, if I betray my oath.”
Article 59
The powers of the President of the Republic and of the Vice-President of the Republic in office expire on the date when the President-elect of the Republic and of the Vice-President-elect of the Republic take office.
Article 60
Upon taking office and at the end of his mandate, the President of the Republic is required to produce an authentic declaration of his assets before the Court of Auditors.
During the performance of his official duties, the President of the Republic may not, by himself or by anyone else, acquire or lease anything that belongs to the domain of the State and to the public communities without prior authorization of the Court of Auditors under the conditions set forth in the law.
The President of the Republic may not tender to the markets of the State and public communities.
Article 61
The official duties of President of the Republic are incompatible with the exercise of any parliamentary mandate, public-sector employment and any professional activity.
Article 62
In the event of the vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic by reason of death, resignation or absolute incapacity of the President of the Republic, the Vice-President of the Republic, automatically, becomes the President of the Republic. Before taking office, he takes the oath of office before the Constitutional Council, in a formal sitting.
The official duties of the new President of the Republic cease at the expiration of the existing presidential term.
The absolute impediment of the President of the Republic, by reason of incapacity to perform his official duties, is recognized immediately by the Constitutional Council called upon for this purpose by a Government request approved by the majority of its members.
In the event of the death, resignation or absolute incapacity of the Vice-President of the Republic, the President of the Republic appoints a new Vice-President after the Constitutional Council has verified his conditions of eligibility. The Vice-President of the Republic takes the oath of office, under the conditions set forth in the law, before the Constitutional Council, in a formal sitting.
In the event of the death, resignation or absolute incapacity of the Vice-President of the Republic, when the office of the President becomes vacant, the official duties of the President of the Republic are performed by the Prime Minister. He may not make use of articles 70, 75 and 177 of the Constitution.
Article 63
The President of the Republic is the exclusive holder of executive power.
Article 64
The President of the Republic sets and implements national policy.
Article 65
The President of the Republic ensures the enforcement of laws and court decisions. He makes regulations applicable to the entire territory of the Republic.
Article 66
The President of the Republic has the right to grant pardon.
Article 67
The President of the Republic is the head of the Administration. He appoints civilian and military posts.
Article 68
The President of the Republic is the Supreme Head of the Armed Forces. He presides over the Councils, Defense and Security Committees.
Article 69
The President of the Republic accredits ambassadors and extraordinary envoys to foreign powers and international organizations. Ambassadors and extraordinary envoys are accredited to him.
Article 70
The President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister, Head of Government. He also terminates the official duties of the latter.
On the proposal of the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic appoints the other members of the government and determine their responsibilities. He terminates their official duties under the same conditions.
Article 71
The President of the Republic presides over the Council of Ministers.
The Council of Ministers is bound to deliberate on:
- decisions determining the general policy of the State;
bills, statutes and regulatory decrees; appointments to senior State posts, the list of which is established by law.
Article 72
Draft laws and statutes may be submitted by the President of the Republic to the Constitutional Council for opinion before being examined by the Council of Ministers.
The drafts of regulatory decrees may be submitted, by the President of the Republic, to the Council of State for its opinion before being examined by the Council of Ministers.
Article 73
Should the institutions of the Republic, the independence of the Nation, the integrity of its territory or the execution of its international commitments become seriously and immediately threatened, and the regular functioning of the constitutional public bodies be interrupted, the President of the Republic takes the exceptional measures required by these circumstances, after consultation with the President of the National Assembly, President of the Senate and the President of the Constitutional Council.
He informs the Nation thereof by message.
Parliament meets without requiring to be convened.
The end of the crisis is recognized by a message from the President of the Republic to the Nation.
Article 74
The President of the Republic initiates legislation concurrently with the members of Parliament.
He ensures the promulgation of laws within thirty days after the law definitively adopted has been submitted to him. This period is shortened to five days in the event of an emergency.
A law not promulgated by the President of the Republic until the expiration of the periods provided for in this article is declared enforceable by the Constitutional Council, referred to by the chairman of one of the two houses of Parliament, if the law is in conformance with the Constitution.
The President of the Republic may, before the expiration of these periods, ask Parliament for a second deliberation of the law or of some of its articles. This second deliberation may not be denied.
He may also, within the same periods, request and be granted, as of right, the holding of this deliberation only in a session following the one in which the draft was adopted on the first reading.
The voting for this second deliberation is decided by the absolute majority of the members of Parliament in office.
Article 75
The President of the Republic, after consulting the Joint-Conventions Bureau, may submit to referendum any draft or matter that he deems to demand direct consultation with the people.
When the referendum has concluded the adoption of the draft, the President of the Republic promulgates it within the periods set forth in Article 74 paragraph 2.
Article 76
The President of the Republic may, by decree, delegate some of his powers to the Vice-President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and to other members of the Government.
Article 77
The President of the Republic may, by decree, delegate some of his powers to the Prime Minister or to the member of the Government acting as interim on behalf of the latter. This delegation of powers must be limited in time and focus on a specific matter.
CHAPTER III. THE VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC
Article 78
The Vice-President of the Republic is elected for five years by direct universal suffrage. He may be re-elected only once.
The candidate for the Vice-Presidency of the Republic is in possession of his civil and political rights and must be at least thirty-five years of age. He must be exclusively of Ivoirian nationality, born of a father or mother of Ivoirian origin.
Article 79
The elected Vice-President of the Republic is sworn in, under the conditions set forth in the law, before the Constitutional Council, in a formal sitting.
The provisions of Articles 60 and 61 of this Constitution apply to the Vice-President of the Republic.
Article 80
The Vice-President of the Republic acts by delegation on behalf of the President of the Republic.
The Vice-President of the Republic replaces the President of the Republic whenever the latter is outside of the national territory. In such a case, the President of the Republic may, by decree, delegate to him the presidency of the Council of Ministers, on a specific agenda.
CHAPTER IV. THE GOVERNMENT
Article 81
The Government is composed of the Prime Minister, Head of Government, and the ministers.
The Government is responsible for the implementation of national policy, such as is defined by the President of the Republic.
Article 82
The Prime Minister organizes and coordinates government action.
The Prime Minister presides over the Council of Government, a preparatory meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The Prime Minister replaces the President of the Republic whenever the latter and the Vice-President of the Republic are outside of the national territory.
Article 83
The Prime Minister and the ministers are jointly and severally accountable to the President of the Republic.
The resignation of the Prime Minister, the Head of Government, entails that of the entire Government.
Article 84
The official duties of member of the Government are incompatible with the exercise of any public-sector employment and any professional activity.
A member of Parliament appointed as a member of the Government may not sit in Parliament during his ministerial duties.
The provisions of Article 60 paragraphs 2 and 3 apply to members of the Government during their official duties.
