Gbagbo must return to Ivorian presidential race, says African Court

This is another setback.

For the second time in ten days, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) disavowed the Ivorian Constitutional Council, ordering it on Friday September 26 to reinstate former President Laurent Gbagbo on the electoral list of the presidential election of October 31.

Ten days ago, she had already done the same for the candidacy of the former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, also dismissed by the Constitutional Council.

In its judgment, the ACHPR orders the Ivorian state to "take all necessary measures to immediately remove all obstacles preventing the applicant [Laurent Gbagbo] from registering on the electoral list".

The former head of state (2000-2010) is not on the electoral rolls revised this year, so he cannot vote or be a candidate.

In mid-September, the Ivorian Constitutional Council rejected Laurent Gbagbo's candidacy for the presidential election.

This candidacy had been submitted by his supporters;

himself not having expressed himself on the subject.

According to the Ivorian authorities, this decision followed the conviction of the former president by the Ivorian courts to twenty years in prison, in the so-called "hold-up of the BCEAO [the Central Bank of West African States ] ", during the post-electoral crisis of 2010-2011.

The Constitutional Council also argued that Laurent Gbagbo's file did not include a declaration signed by him making an application.

And he has not given up his post as an ex officio member of the Constitutional Council as former President of the Republic, which according to the Council prevents him from running.

Seized by Laurent Gbagbo in early September, the African Court, which sits in Arusha (Tanzania), also orders the Ivorian state to "suspend the mention of the criminal conviction from the criminal record".

Candidates of "provocation", according to Alassane Ouattara

Laurent Gbagbo's lawyer, Me Claude Maintenon, told AFP "satisfied" with the judgment, while noting that "the application depends on the goodwill of the State".

The Minister of Communication and spokesperson for the Ivorian government, Sidi Touré, for his part judged that the CAHDP "is in its logic to attack the sovereignty of the [Ivorian] state".

"Electoral issues are a matter of our national sovereignty," he insisted.

Acquitted at first instance for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court in The Hague, the 75-year-old former president is awaiting a possible appeal in Belgium.

He cannot return to Côte d'Ivoire, because the Ivorian authorities refuse, according to his lawyers, to issue him a passport.

The Ivorian Constitutional Council refused 40 of the 44 candidatures for the presidential election in October, including that of Laurent Gbagbo and that of the former rebel leader and former Prime Minister Guillaume Soro.

On the other hand, she validated the controversial candidacy for a third term of outgoing President Alassane Ouattara.

On September 15, the ACHPR asked Côte d'Ivoire to allow the candidacy of Guillaume Soro.

This was refused by the Ivorian Constitutional Court after his sentence to twenty years in prison for "concealment of embezzlement of public funds".

He is also accused of "attempted insurrection".

"Soro, like Gbagbo, was dismissed because his criminal record is not blank. Both knew it perfectly well: their candidatures are provocative," said current President Alassane Ouattara in an interview published Thursday, September 24 by the French weekly

.

Strong tension

Political tension is high in Côte d'Ivoire just over a month before the presidential election.

Ten years ago, the crisis born of the 2010 election left 3,000 dead, when Laurent Gbagbo refused to admit his defeat to Alassane Ouattara.

In August, around 15 people were killed in violence after the announcement of the current president's candidacy for a third term, described as a "forfeiture" by the opposition.

The Constitution limits the number of presidential terms to two, but the Constitutional Council estimated that the entry into force of a new Constitution in 2016 has reset the counter to zero for the current head of state.

An interpretation contested by the opposition.

Accusing the African Court of "undermining the sovereignty of Côte d'Ivoire", Abidjan "withdrew its declaration of jurisdiction" in April and in fact has lost interest in the decisions of the Court.

This withdrawal came after the ACHPR ordered a stay of legal proceedings against Guillaume Soro, who had seized it.

Abidjan, however, remains legally bound by its decisions.

The Court notes in fact in its judgment that the withdrawal of jurisdiction does not become effective until "the expiration of the period of one year", i.e. from April 2021. This withdrawal of jurisdiction however means that the Ivorian State no longer allows the Court to "receive requests from individuals and non-governmental organizations".

With AFP

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