Ivory Coast’s ‘Iron Lady’ Simone Gbagbo Stages Political Comeback as Presidential Candidate

Simone Gbagbo, age 76 and a prominent figure in Ivorian politics, is mounting a political comeback, having been officially approved as a candidate in the upcoming October 2025 presidential election.

Formerly First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire between 2000 and 2011 and long regarded as the "power behind the throne" during her husband Laurent Gbagbo’s presidency, she had lived a turbulent political life marked by conviction for attempting to undermine state security.

Sentenced to 20 years in prison, she was subsequently granted amnesty in 2018, having served only three years. Having recently founded a new political party—the Movement of Capable Generations (MGC)—she was designated as its candidate last year.

Despite her controversial past, she has now been cleared by the Constitutional Council to contest the election, along with only five other candidates from an initial field of 60. Her candidacy stands in stark contrast to that of major opposition figures: Tidjane Thiam, the leading challenger from the PDCI, was disqualified based on nationality grounds, and ex-President Laurent Gbagbo was also barred, while Simone Gbagbo remains eligible.

Her reemergence underscores divisions within the opposition, as well as the fragmented institutional landscape. As voters approach the October election, Simone Gbagbo’s high-profile return from seclusion to electoral contender illuminates both her enduring political influence and the complexities of the Ivory Coast’s shifting democratic dynamics.

Source: Reuters; BBC News.