Ivory coast (PPA-CI) has officially submitted the candidacy of former president Laurent Gbagbo for the upcoming presidential election scheduled for 25 October 2025.
The announcement was made on Monday as hundreds of party supporters gathered outside the headquarters of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) in Cocody, Abidjan, chanting: “We’re going to install Gbagbo.”
Leading the delegation, PPA-CI executive president Sébastien Dano Djédjé said: “This day, Monday, August 25, 2025, is a memorable day for us, because it is this day that we have chosen to file Laurent Gbagbo’s candidacy for the presidential election of October 2025.”
Dano Djédjé added that he and Mr. Habiba Touré had been personally appointed by Mr. Gbagbo to handle the submission. “We have been here since 8 a.m. because we wanted to follow the entire procedure, first to verify our sponsorships with the staff of the CEI and to submit the application,” he explained.
Highlighting the scale of support, he stated: “Out of 33 regions and districts that were supposed to sponsor us, while we were asked for 17, we got 27 regions and districts. This proves that Laurent Gbagbo matters to many Ivorians.”
Mr. Dano Djédjé urged for a transparent and inclusive process. “We hope that the elections that will take place on October 25, 2025, will be part of this vision and that Ivorians will choose their president with total transparency, inclusiveness of candidates, rigor, credibility and above all peace,” he said.
Laurent Gbagbo, who returned from The Hague in 2021 and founded the PPA-CI later that year, was removed from the electoral roll following a conviction in the “BCEAO robbery” case but remains the party’s chosen candidate.
The PPA-CI, in alliance with the PDCI through the PPA-CI/PDCI Joint Front, has vowed to challenge what it calls the “unconstitutional fourth term” of current president Alassane Ouattara.
Tidjane Thiam, PDCI president and former Crédit Suisse CEO, also submitted his candidacy despite being declared ineligible, while some within the opposition have suggested precautionary measures in case Mr. Gbagbo’s candidacy is rejected.
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