Former First Lady Simone Gbagbo has been unexpectedly cleared as one of five candidates to contest the 25 October presidential election.
She is set to run against President Alassane Ouattara, who took power after her former husband, Laurent Gbagbo, was captured in a presidential bunker during the conflict that hit the country after the 2010 election.
She will also face there candidates: former ministers Jean-Louis Billon, Ahoua Don Mello, and Henriette Lagou, who was a candidate in 2015. Former Prime Minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan and ex-Credit Suisse CEO Tidjane Thiam were barred from the race, raising fears of instability and questions over the election’s legitimacy.
Gbagbo’s candidacy is symbolic in a country where women are overwhelmingly underrepresented in leadership roles.
