After being acquitted on war crimes charges by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and returning from a decade abroad, former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, who served from 2000 to 2011, launched his African People’s Party – Cote d’Ivoire (PPA-CI) in 2021.
He was acquitted in 2019 by the ICC, based in the Netherlands, concerning charges stemming from his involvement in a civil war triggered by his refusal to accept defeat in an election.
Despite losing control of the party he initially established, the Ivorian Popular Front (IPF), to a former ally during his imprisonment and trial in the Netherlands, Gbagbo maintains a significant and devoted support base in his homeland.
The upcoming election is slated for October 2025. President Alassane Ouattara, who secured reelection in 2020, has not yet confirmed whether he will seek another term.
Another potential candidate is Tidjane Thiam, former CEO of Swiss bank Credit Suisse, who assumed the presidency of the PDCI, one of Ivory Coast’s leading opposition parties, in December. However, the party has yet to formally nominate its preferred candidate.