Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo launches a new political party
Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo launched a new political party on Saturday, formally severing ties with those who ran his old party while spending years facing war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court.
Gbagbo, 76, who returned home in June after his acquittal was confirmed, announced a few months later that he would establish a new party to avoid legal battles with his longtime ally, Pascal Affi N’Guessan.
Gbagbo was extradited to The Hague in 2011 and his Ivory Coast Popular Front party split three years later, with one faction led by N’Guessan, while former first lady Simone Gbagbo played a prominent role in the other.
Organizers say the proposed name for Gbagbo’s new party is the African People’s Party – Ivory Coast, abbreviated to its French acronym, PPA-CI.
On Saturday, Gbagbo greeted a crowd of more than 1,600 delegates in Abidjan, many of whom held small flags bearing his image. The former president is expected to address his supporters on Sunday, organizers said.
The creation of Gbagbo’s new political party comes amid persistent questions about his future political aspirations. He served as president from 2000 until his arrest in 2011 after refusing to concede defeat to Alassane Ouattara. The post-electoral conflict left more than 3,000 dead and returned the country to the brink of civil war.
Ouattara eventually prevailed and has been the president of the Ivory Coast ever since. Ouattara won a controversial third term late last year after the opposition claimed many of his candidates were disqualified, including Gbagbo.
On Saturday, the executive director of the ruling party, Adama Bictogo, was among those attending the party congress.
“For us, witnessing the birth of a new party led by President Laurent Gbagbo reinforces the existing democratic vitality and will help advance democracy,” he said.
However, the former first lady, Simone Gbagbo, who had traveled to the Congo, was notably absent. Charles Ble Goude, a former Gbagbo youth leader who was also acquitted at the ICC, also did not attend.
Laurent Gbagbo spent eight years awaiting trial on war crimes charges. A judge acquitted him in 2019, saying prosecutors were unable to prove his case. The verdict was appealed but confirmed in late March, paving the way for Gbagbo to leave Belgium, where he had spent the past two years.
While some feared his return could spark further unrest, Gbagbo was greeted by Ouattara himself and has mostly kept a low profile. However, some of Gbagbo’s opponents argue that he should have been imprisoned in Côte d’Ivoire upon his return and not welcomed by a statesman.
(AP)
