Ex- Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo Leader Of New Party

Former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo has launched a new political party, the African People’s Party’s congress,(PPA-CI) which marked his return to the forefront of the political scene, after ten years of absence.

Gbagbo was elected the head of the PPA-CI by some 1,600 delegates on Saturday night as he seeks to “reunite the left” and use the occasion as a springboard to the 2025 presidential election.

Political representatives from a dozen African countries attended this weekend’s congress and for his supporters, it’s a new beginning for social cohesion in Côte d’Ivoire.

The 76-year-old, whose 2000-2011 rule was marked by turbulence and division in the world’s biggest cocoa producer, has been highly visible since returning.

He was removed from office in April 2011 after a short civil war that claimed 3,000 lives, sparked by his refusal to accept electoral defeat by the current president, Alassane Ouattara.

Gbagbo was then flown to the International Criminal Court in The Hague to face charges of crimes against humanity resulting from the conflict but was eventually acquitted.