Ivory Coast: Parties begin preps for 2025 presidential election

Former Ivorian Prime Minister Pascal Affi N'Guessan was on Saturday named candidate for the Popular Ivorian Front (FPI) in the 2025 presidential election.

At a congress in Yamoussoukro, the Ivorian capital, N'Guessan was re-elected president of the FPI with 99.34% of the votes cast by some 4,500 voters.

The FPI is the party of former President Laurent Gbagbo. N'Guessan took over its leadership during Gbagbo's incarceration in the Hague on war crimes and crimes against humanity charges.

N'Guessan has sought the presidency in 2015 and 2020, each time losing to Alassane Ouattara, the incumbent.

He rejected the results and was briefly arrested on accusations of running a 'parallel government'.

Some of N'Guessan's key proposals include abolishing senate and the restoration of presidential term limits.

Ouattara who won re-election controversially has not said whether he will seek a fourth term.