FORMER Cote d’Ivoire president Laurent Gbagbo has announced his intention to lead the party he founded into the 2025 presidential elections, according to spokesman Katinan Kone. The decision came following a meeting of the party’s central committee.
Gbagbo, who served as president of the West African nation from 2000 to 2011, established the African People’s Party – Cote d’Ivoire (PPA-CI) in 2021 after being acquitted of war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and returning from a decade of exile.
The former president was acquitted in 2019 by the Netherlands-based ICC on charges stemming from his alleged involvement in a civil war sparked by his refusal to concede defeat in an election.
Despite losing control of the Ivorian Popular Front (IPF), a party he previously founded, to a former ally during his imprisonment and trial in the Netherlands, Gbagbo maintains a significant and loyal support base within the country.
The upcoming presidential election is scheduled to take place in October 2025. Incumbent President Alassane Ouattara, who secured re-election in 2020, has yet to confirm whether he will seek another term.
Meanwhile, another potential contender for the presidency is Tidjane Thiam, the former chief executive of Swiss bank Credit Suisse. Thiam assumed the presidency of the PDCI, one of Cote d’Ivoire’s major opposition parties, in December. However, the party has not yet formally designated its chosen candidate for the election.
