A dispute among members of the ruling coalition in the Ivory Coast over a new marital law on Wednesday prompted President Alassane Ouattara to dissolve the government, a spokesman said. The National Assembly on Tuesday passed amendments to the marriage act to make husband and wife equals before the law. The amendments were opposed by lawmaker from president Ouattara's Rally of the Republicans (RDR) party and backed by members of its coalition partner, the Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI).
A fierce dispute over the amendments broke out at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, prompting Ouattara to dissolve the government. "Ministers who belong to different political parties did not show any solidarity over the changes in the Marriage Act passed by the MPs," said presidential spokesman Amadou Gon Coulibaly.
"The difference of opinion between the ministers denotes not only a lack of cohesion, but disagreement within the government." The rift shows a fragile political environment in the world's premier cocoa producing country that suffered a violent post-electoral crisis in 2010-11, leaving at least 3,000 people dead. In the 2010 election, the head of the PDCI supported Ouattara against former President Laurent Gbagbo.
No information has been given on when a new government will be appointed. The dissolved government was set up in March 2012 to bring the economy back on track and foster reconciliation after the brief post-election civil war. Gbagbo refused to concede defeat in the November 2010 presidential election, sparking violence. He is now awaiting trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. There are still tensions between supporters of Gbagbo and backers of Ouattara.
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