Ivory Coast Ex-President Gbagbo Seeks to Stand in 2025 Election

(Bloomberg) -- Ivory Coast’s ex-President Laurent Gbagbo could again run for office next year, more than a decade after his refusal to concede election defeat sparked a civil war which left at least 3,000 people dead or missing.

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Gbagbo’s African People’s Party wants the former leader to be officially sworn in as its presidential candidate for the 2025 vote, according to a statement.

The 78-year-old Gbagbo returned to Ivory Coast three years ago after he was acquitted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity committed during the five-month conflict that started in 2010. He’s since been pardoned by President Alassane Ouattara, but has yet to see his civic rights restored, a necessary step to vote and to run for office.

Gbagbo, together with Ouattara, 82, and Henri Konan Bedie, another former president who passed away in 2023, have dominated politics in the world’s top cocoa producer for decades. Tidjane Thiam, the former chief executive officer of Credit Suisse, is widely expected to contest the 2025 vote after securing the leadership of Bedie’s former party.

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