The African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights ruled on Friday he is eligible to contest in the elections after the Electoral Commission had disqualified him based on his earlier court convictions.
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African Court orders Ivory Coast to allow Laurent Gbagbo to run for President
Former President of Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo is likely to return to the seat of the country’s government if he wins the country’s presidential election scheduled for October 31, 2020.
Ivory Coast ex-president Laurent Gbagbo
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Gbagbo was sentenced in absentia in November 2019 for the “looting” of the Central Bank of West African States following a disputed 2010 election that resulted in a brief civil war.
Due to that conviction, the electoral commission removed Gbagbo’s name from the electoral list, claiming he was unfit to contest for president.
But the African court held a different view and ordered that country takes “all necessary measures to immediately remove all obstacles” to ensure that Mr Gbagbo participates in the election which is barely a month away.
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Although he is currently in exile in Belgium because the Ivorian government has refused to grant him necessary documents to return home, Gbagbo’s supporters reportedly filed his nomination papers on his behalf, a gesture the electoral commission is counterproductive because Gbagbo himself must put his signature on the form to make it valid.
The African court held that the bases for disqualifying Gbagbo are inadmissible, further ordering Ivory Coast to “suspend the mention of the criminal conviction of the criminal record” of Gbagbo.
Reports say the court made a similar ruling in respect of the candidacy of former rebel leader and former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro who was equally disqualified by the Constitutional Council due to a court conviction.
Gbagbo who was acquitted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court last year will be battling with his successor Alassane Ouattara for a return to the presidency where he was ousted.
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The 76-year-old Ouattara who has been in office since 2011 had announced that he would not be seeking a third term in office, saying he wanted the new generation to take over, according to reports.
However, as fate would have it, the man who was picked to run on the ticket of the ruling party, Prime Minister, Amadou Gon Coulibaly suddenly died, making Ouattara’s third term bid unavoidable. A constitutional court subsequently granted him the clearance to contest.
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