Thousands of people went up on Saturday to see Ivory Coast’s former president, Laurent Gbagbo, launch his ambition to return to power despite the fact that he is ineligible.
Supporters travelled from all across the country to Agboville, 70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Abidjan, to hear 78-year-old Gbabgo lament “the high cost of living” in a speech that lasted more than two hours.
Gbagbo, who served as president from 2000 to 2011, wants to represent the African People’s Party-Cote d’Ivoire (PPA-CI), but he is barred from running due to a 20-year prison sentence for looting the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) in 2011 during a bloody post-election crisis that killed 3,000 people.
Even if he was acquitted of human rights violations allegedly committed during the crisis by the International Criminal Court in 2021 and pardoned by President Alassane Ouattara a year later for the BCEAO case, he has not been amnestied, preventing him from appearing on electoral lists.
“I am not guilty,” he declared Saturday, adding that he will release documents in the coming days to “reveal the truth.”
“For peace and cohesion,” we must establish a “amnesty law,” said Bertin Kouassi Kouadio, federal secretary of the PPA-CI in Yopougon, a working-class neighbourhood of Abidjan.
– ‘Remobilise the troops’ –
Gbagbo’s supporters are already organised for the elections that must be held within 18 months.
On Saturday, they paraded through the streets of Agboville, to the rhythm of traditional drums and singing in praise of their “president”.
Eloge Paibo, head of the PPA-CI in Abidjan, said the rally would “remobilise the troops”.
“This mobilisation should show the whole world that President Gbagbo has the means to win,” said Ines Nadege Blezir, a pro-Gbagbo activist for more than 30 years, who held a banner in the party’s blue colours.
The wider popularity of Gbagbo, who spent almost 10 years outside Ivory Coast when he was imprisoned at the ICC, is difficult to measure.
In the 2023 local elections, the PPA-CI won only a handful of towns and its leaders lost in many municipalities and regions.
So far, Gbabgo is the only political heavyweight to have declared their candidacy.
Tidjane Thiam, leader of the main opposition party, is expected to be named by the Democratic Party of Cote d’Ivoire (PDCI), but President Ouattara has yet to say if he’s running for a fourth term.