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Abidjan — Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara said Saturday that he offered a presidential pardon to longtime rival Laurent Gbagbo as part of a settlement with his predecessor ahead of the 2025 elections.
Gbagbo, who was president from 2000 to 2011, said in 2019 about his role in the civil war caused by Côte d'Ivoire's refusal to admit defeat after the 2010 elections. Côte d'Ivoire last year after being acquitted of war crimes charges by The Hague in 2019. And he was still facing a 20-year prison sentence. He always denies the charges.
"To further strengthen social cohesion, I have signed a decree granting a presidential pardon to Laurent Gbagbo," Ouattara said before Independence Day. said in a televised address. Sunday.
He also said he demanded the unfreezing of Gbagbo's accounts and the payment of the president's life annuity arrears.
The decision follows rare talks between Ouattara, Gbagbo and former President Henri Conan Bedi in July.
The trio have dominated Ivory Coast's troubled political scene since the 1990s. Bedi served as president from 1993 until he was ousted in a coup in 1999.
Tensions rose most dramatically after the 2010 elections. Gbagbo's refusal to admit defeat sparked a brief civil war that killed about 3,000 people before Ouattara-allied rebels stormed the main city of Abidjan.
Ouattara has maintained relative stability during his ten years in power. But dozens were killed in clashes that erupted before and after the 2020 elections. He ran for his third term, which Gbagbo and Bedi said was unconstitutional.
The president has yet to reveal whether he plans to run for his fourth term in 2025. He said he wanted to resign, but also suggested that Gbagbo and Bedi should commit to leaving politics. to do so.
They have so far not indicated what their plans are. (edited by Alessandra Prentice; edited by David Gregorio)