Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara [BBC profile] signed [Reuters report] a new constitution into law on Tuesday. Voters endorsed the new charter with over 93 percent of the vote in a referendum last month, and the Ivory Coast court upheld [JURIST reports] the referendum results last week. One of the major changes in the new constitution is that candidates now only must have one natural born Ivorian parent.

The Ivory Coast has faced turmoil since 2010 when former president Laurent Gbagbo [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] ran for reelection against former prime minister Ouattara. The EU recognized that Ouattara defeated Gbagbo, but Gbagbo refused to concede victory. Gbagbo has been accused [JURIST report] of starting a civil war after losing the presidency, which resulted in 3,000 deaths and one million people displaced. Gbagbo is currently facing trial before the International Criminal Court.