Ineligible to stand, Gbagbo enters the Ivorian election by other means

Determined to play a role in the upcoming presidential election despite his ineligibility to stand as a candidate, Laurent Gbagbo launched a campaign dubbed ‘Enough is Enough’.

He said it aims to draw attention to the country’s ‘oppressed’.

Gbagbo’s African People’s Party met in Abidjan on Saturday and instructed its cadres to advance the campaign.

“We must unite all those who have something to lament. Is life too expensive for you? We’ll open the doors to you. Enough is enough,” Gbagbo told officials and activists gathered at the party’s offices.

79-year-old Gbagbo who ruled Ivory Coast from 2000-2011 has expressed his desire to stand for president but cannot do so due to a criminal conviction.

He was sentenced to 20 years in prison by an Ivorian for charges related to the serious post-election crisis of 2010-2011 which left some 3,000 dead.

The ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign aims to put pressure on President Alassane Ouattara whose rule has delivered impressive economic growth but dogged by high poverty levels and a cost of living crisis.

Ouattara has remained mute about his future, with speculation mounting that he will seek a new mandate.

Last week, an Abidjan court removed Tidjane Thiam – seen as the ruling party’s most competent challenger – from the electoral roll, ruling that he had lost his Ivorian nationality when he registered in 2022.

The decision is not subject to appeal and therefore closes the door on his candidacy.

Born in Ivory Coast, Thiam obtained French nationality in 1987 and renounced it in March in order to run for president.

In Ivory Coast, a candidate for president cannot be a dual national.