Ivory Coast's government on Tuesday accused its opponents of sedition for creating a parallel administration in defiance of President Alassane Ouattara's landslide election win and asked prosectors to pursue criminal charges.
The move deepens a bitter and sometimes deadly standoff over Ouattara's bid for a third term that led the opposition to boycott Saturday's vote and then reject its results.
Late on Monday, the candidates who boycotted the vote - former president Henri Konan Bedie and ex-prime minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan - announced they had set up what they called a transitional council.
"Condemning in the strongest terms this act of sedition, the government has called on the prosecutor," to bring those responsible to justice, the government said in a statement.
The run-up to the election was marred by clashes between rival supporters that killed at least 30 people. At least five died in election day violence.
The violence spurred fears of longer term unrest. A brief civil war following the disputed election in 2010 that brought Ouattara to power killed over 3,000 people.
His bid for a third term was rejected as unconstitutional by the opposition. Ouattara said a new constitution approved in 2016 gave him the right to run again.
Ouattara won the election with 94.27% of the vote, according to results announced by the electoral commission early on Tuesday. The figures still have to be validated by the country's constitutional council.
Reuters
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