Ivory Coast’s ex-first lady cleared to contest presidential election

The former first lady of Ivory Coast Simon Gbagbo, 76, is to include a surprise in the list of five candidates who were officially cleared to compete for the presidential elections next month.

She will be committed against President Hassan Uatara, 83, who took power after she and her former husband, Laurent Gibagbo, will be arrested in a presidential hideout during the conflict that struck the country after the 2010 elections.

However, the former president was prevented from competing for the survey, along with former Presidency Minister Pascal Avenini Nijwisan and CEO of Suez Suez in the bank.

Their exclusion raised concerns about the legitimacy of voting on October 25 and raised fears of instability.

Thaham, who was excluded by the Constitutional Council because of his previous French nationality, called for the decision to “the act of democratic sabotage” and accused the Atara administration of coordinating “dormant elections” to cling to power.

In 2011, Outetara took over the arrest of Laurent Gibagbo after refusing to accept the defeat in the 2010 elections.

Ouattara was originally bound to provide two periods, but a constitutional reform for 2016 allowed him to search for his re -election in 2020, in a vote by the opposition.

He won in these elections a landslide, with at least 85 people killed in disturbances. It was later announced that it will run for a fourth period.

The Constitutional Council, Laurent Gibagbo, was prevented from running for the presidency due to a criminal conviction for 2018.

He was sentenced to his absence due to the looting of the central bank during the political crisis that struck the Ivory Coast after the 2010 elections.

Although he obtained a presidential pardon in 2020, he did not restore his right to vote or run for a position.

He also faced separate charges of crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC), but he was acquitted.

For Simone GBAGBO, its nomination is not only a political important, but it is the strongest symbol in a country where women remain a greatly incomplete representative in the national leadership.

Only 30 % of Ivorian parliamentarians are women, and a few are raising great roles in the government.

Simone Gbagbo, which was called “The Iron Lady”, was about to become the strongest female competitor to the presidency in the history of Ivory Coast.

She and the former Henriite Lago Edfu, who represents the political partners of the Peace Alliance, are the two women who were approved by the constitutional council.

Simon Gibagbo was a long profession and active in Idori policy, including the deputy – who was later overwhelmed by her role in the violence that followed the 2010 elections in which more than 3000 people died.

This was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2015 by a court in Ivory Coast.

However, she was granted Pardon three years after President Uatara To enhance reconciliation. Unlike her ex -husband, the condemnation was not removed from the voter record.

The International Criminal Court also followed charges against it in 2012, but was dropped after about nine years.

Since then, it has been rebuilding its political base quietly and systematically, after a break from the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI)-the party that she participated in its founding with her former husband, former President GBAGBO.

The slogan of its campaign is an invitation to “build a new nation” within “sovereign, generous and prosperous Africa.”

“Her approval legislates the idea that Evanian women can aspire to the highest office, regardless of their past, time or gender. It is not just a candidate – it is a symbol,” said local political analyst Severin Yao Kaams.

It is not clear whether Laurent Gibagbo, who is now excluded from the elections, will support his ex -wife.

The two married for more than 30 years, as they were sharing the life of political militancy, imprisonment and governance. They divorced in 2023.

The official election campaign begins on October 10.

There are 8.7 million registered voters in the country, and there are fears that some other candidates will exclude the confidence of the public and the renewal of disturbances.

All eyes are still on whether Simon Gibagbo can reshape the leadership of the leadership, and become the president.