The former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo has been designated by the African Peoples' Party - Ivory Coast (PPA-CI, opposition), of which he is the leader, as their candidate for the presidential election.
"President Laurent Gbagbo has accepted the Central Committee's proposal to be the Party's candidate for the upcoming 2025 elections," states the party's Central Committee following its first ordinary session.
Elected as President of Ivory Coast in 2000, Gbagbo was deemed ineligible to run for office as he was sentenced by Ivorian justice to 20 years in prison and a fine of 329 billion CFA francs, in the case of the "robbery" of the National Agency of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) following the Ivorian post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011.
However, after being acquitted in March 2021 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of charges of crimes against humanity, Gbagbo, at 77 years of age, founded the PPA-CI, a political formation positioned on the left. This decision was announced on Monday, October 17, 2022, by the PPA-CI's Secretary-General, Damana Pikass, who highlighted the party's determination not to be merely ornamental in the upcoming electoral process.
Gbagbo has also expressed his stance regarding his potential candidacy, indicating that he no longer personally wishes to become president. However, he specified that he would be willing to take on the role if his comrades from the PPA-CI deemed him the best choice for the 2025 election.
