The former Ivorian president agreed on Saturday to lead the party he founded, the African People’s Party – Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI), for the 2025 presidential election, his spokesman said after a meeting of the party’s central committee.
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Laurent Gbagbo candidate. The former president of Cote d’Ivoire has agreed to lead the party he founded for Saturday’s March 9, 2025 presidential election, his spokesman Katinen Kone told Reuters after a meeting of the party’s central committee.
Laurent Gbagbo, president from 2000 to 2011, returned in 2021 after his African People’s Party – Ivory Coast (PPA-CI) was acquitted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and his decade-long return from spending abroad.
He was acquitted by the Netherlands-based ICC in 2019 of charges related to his role in the civil war that began when he refused to accept defeat in an election.
Laurent Gbagbo lost control of the party he founded, the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), to a former ally while he was in pre-trial detention in a prison in the Netherlands.
Elections are expected to be held in October 2025. President Alassane Ouattara, who was up for re-election in 2020, has not yet said whether he will seek re-election.
Another possible candidate is former Swiss bank Credit Suisse CEO Tidgen Thiam, who in December became president of PDCI, one of Ivory Coast’s main opposition parties, although the party has yet to officially name its candidate.
with Reuters
