Its founding congress was held in the Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire (PDCI) office in Abidjan from April 3–5, 1969.

In 1971, students at the University of Abidjan founded the politically independent Pupils and Students Trade Union of Côte d'Ivoire (French: Union Syndicale des Elèves et Etudiants de Côte d'Ivoire or USEEECI) in protest of MEECI.

[1] The government forced students to pledge that they would not engage in anti-government activism in order to remain in university.

Houphouët-Boigny considered the permanent presence of French force as a protection which guaranteed the security of the country.

Under his government, Ivory Coast took the course of liberal free market economy and expanded its cash crop sector.

However, the prices continued to drop, the fund quickly dried, subsidies to farmers had to be cut, and the external debt of Ivory Coast rose.

Protests led by civil servants and students forced the government to hold elections and adopt a multi-party system in 1990.

The two major political parties in the 1990 election were the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), founded by Laurent Gbagbo, and the ruling PDCI.