Ivory Coast: Charles Blé Goudé elected head of his party

Charles Blé Goudé, the former head of the Young Patriots of Côte d'Ivoire recently acquitted of crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC), was elected head of his party Sunday, August 18, at the from a first congress held in Abidjan.

"Charles Blé Goudé was unanimously elected by the 1,225 congressmen as president of the Cojep for four years", according to the conclusions of the first ordinary congress of the party born of the movement of this close to the former president Laurent Gbagbo who feeds him even presidential ambitions.

>> To see: Charles Blé Goudé on France 24: "I have the ambition to lead my country one day"

"The Congressmen took me to the head of the Cojep, and I feel all the responsibility, my priority: the peace and reconciliation of the girls and sons of Côte d'Ivoire," Charles Blé Goudé told AFP. , reached by telephone from Abidjan in the Hague where he has resided since his acquittal by the ICC pending a possible appeal by the prosecutor.

On Saturday, Charles Blé Goudé, who is on conditional release, said he wanted to "build a big party". "I promise you, together you and I, we will build a great political party whose stronghold will be Côte d'Ivoire," said the former leader by video conference in front of his supporters gathered in Yopougon, a neighborhood popular of Abidjan.

"Soon we will be on our way to Ivory Coast"

The former controversial leader of the Young Patriots of Côte d'Ivoire sees a presidential destiny. "I have ambitions to one day lead my country, with a team that will understand that we must make politics otherwise in Côte d'Ivoire", said in June on the channel France 24 this faithful of the former President Gbgabo - also acquitted by the ICC at first instance. "Soon we [Blé Goudé and Laurent Gbagbo] will be on our way to Côte d'Ivoire," said Charles Blé Goudé.

In an interview with AFP in late May, the latter had said he would be "candidate for anything in 2020", the year of the next presidential election.

In the 2000s, he was nicknamed "the general of the streets" for his ability to mobilize supporters of Laurent Gbagbo through the movement of Young Patriots including, often described as militia.

Its detractors and international NGOs consider it one of those who contributed to the escalation of tension in Côte d'Ivoire in the 2000s, which culminated in 2010-2011 in the post-election violence that took more than 3,000 dead.

With AFP