(4 minutes read)
· The African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights recently rejected the exclusion of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo from the upcoming presidential elections of October 31
· The court has ordered the Ivorian state to take all necessary measures to immediately remove all obstacles that bar his participation
The African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights recently rejected the exclusion of former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo from the upcoming presidential elections of October 31. The court has ordered the Ivorian state to take all necessary measures to immediately remove all obstacles that bar his participation. The major hindrance for his candidacy was the absence of signature on the candidature application since it was filed by supporters on his behalf during his exile in Belgium. The Court made it clear that it was an inadmissible charge and there are precedents of such cases when the candidates were allowed to contest without signing on the application.
The Court also ordered the Ivorian state to suspend the mention of the criminal conviction of the criminal record of Gbagbo. The court had taken a similar position earlier in the case of former rebel leader and former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro. His candidacy had also been rejected by the Constitutional Council after a court conviction.
Gbagbo is awaiting a possible appeal in Belgium to be able to return to his native Côte d’Ivoire — whose authorities refuse, according to his lawyers, to issue him a passport. He was acquitted by a court of first instance of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court
