With Ivory Coast heading into a high-stakes presidential election in October 2025, Nady Bamba Gbagbo, wife of former President Laurent Gbagbo, has delivered a poignant and politically charged appeal.
Speaking during a Mother’s Day celebration in Agou on Saturday, June 28, Bamba urged President Alassane Ouattara to make a decisive gesture to safeguard national stability.
“President Alassane Ouattara holds the destiny of Côte d’Ivoire in his hands today. A single decision can plunge Côte d’Ivoire into chaos, just as a single decision can allow the country to navigate in peace,” she said, in remarks that echoed both urgency and diplomacy.
At the heart of the current tension lies Laurent Gbagbo’s candidacy. Though officially nominated by the African People’s Party – Ivory coast (PPA-CI), the former head of state remains legally barred from running.
His ineligibility stems from a 2018 conviction in absentia for the looting of the BCEAO during the 2010–2011 post-election crisis.
While Gbagbo received a presidential pardon in 2022, the conviction itself remains intact. Only an amnesty—an executive prerogative—can restore his civil and political rights.
“He [Ouattara] knows what he has to do. It’s not too late yet. Anything is possible!” Bamba declared, offering a final appeal that wove together constitutional fidelity with national interest.
Though framed as a call for calm, Bamba’s speech contained a thinly veiled rebuke aimed at political insiders. Without naming individuals, she warned: “Warmongers who are close to a leader are always the first to flee when power is lost”—a clear reference to those she believes are stoking division.
Beyond advocating for her husband’s candidacy, Bamba outlined a broader vision of democratic transition. She proposed a one-term presidency for Gbagbo, centered on reconciliation and social progress, including the launch of a zero-interest “women’s bank.” “What we need to build today is a peaceful change of power between a former President and a new President.
Ivory coast deserves it,” she insisted.
Amidst growing skepticism over the Independent Electoral Commission’s role, Bamba rallied PPA-CI activists to persist despite administrative hurdles.
“Even if the IEC puts obstacles in your way, find the sponsors!” she urged. Alluding to a recent African Court of Human Rights ruling that went against Gbagbo, she added cryptically, “A crime is never perfect,” suggesting that the political and legal battles are far from over.
Through this impassioned address, Nady Bamba Gbagbo has positioned herself not merely as a spokesperson, but as a strategic force in the electoral landscape—invoking memory, challenging power, and opening the door for a potential national reconciliation.
With just four months to go, her message to President Ouattara was clear: the power to preserve peace lies in a single signature.
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