abidjanpress.com /  Exiled Ivory Coast opposition leader Guillaume Soro

By Gary Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

Ivory Coast opposition leader Guillaume Soro has declared his candidacy for the upcoming presidential elections in the  west African nation. Soro, a former rebel leader who has also been barred from running and lives in exile in France, filed his application on Monday to become an official candidate. 

 “Je suis candidat à l’élection présidentielle en Côte d’Ivoire”

Je suis candidat à l’élection présidentielle en Côte d’Ivoire. 1er acte politique dépôt de ma candidature. Nul n’ignore que la CEI et le Conseil Constitutionnel sont des appendices du Parti au pouvoir-RHDP. Et qu’en réalité c’est @AOuattara_PRCI qui écrira les décisions à lire. https://t.co/aRklqo0Vbl pic.twitter.com/I7hJsghqmJ

— Guillaume K. Soro (@SOROKGUILLAUME) August 31, 2020

 Soro is calling on France President Emmanuel Macron to take a stand against Alassane Ouattara, the outgoing president of Côte d’Ivoire who is seeking a third term while the constitution limits to two the number of terms. 

“The Constitution, the foundation of our republican edifice, is being demolished. No woman, no man of goodwill, no democrat in the world can resign himself to this crime committed before our eyes against one of the most important and stable countries in Africa. You recently visited Côte d’Ivoire but are you really informed of what is happening? Disappointed, Ivorian opinion also found in very bad taste the pathetic waddling of a 75-year-old president on a dance floor, trying to coax you in this circumstance that he thought was favorable, while the social situation of the country is so worrying. We are millions and millions. We strained our ears. We have only heard silence from France.”

– Guillaume Soro 

SORO Leading “Resistance” To President Ouattara in FRANCE 

In April, Soro, a high-profile  organizer of  “the resistance”  to President  Ouattara, was  sentenced to 20 years in jail on charges of embezzlement and money laundering.  An Ivory Coast court handed down the sentence to Soro which included a fine of seven million euros. Soro was tried in absentia as he currently lives in Paris.  Soro  has steadfastly denied all of the  charges against him, saying the are “trumped up”  designed to keep him from participating in the country’s scheduled presidential elections.  Soro has been  living in political exile in France  after the Republic of Ivory Coast issued an arrest warrant last December  for  Soro for  involvement in an alleged coup plot.

 Ivory Coast Ex-President Gbagbo’s Supporters Defy Judicial Ruling – File For His Election Candidacy

Credit: ©ICC/CPI / Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo at International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands
 
Despite an Ivorian judicial  ruling  excluding  former President Laurent Gbagbo  from a list of candidates for the October 31 elections, supporters filed for his candidacy.  Gbagbo has been living in Belgium after being acquitted of war crimes by the International Criminal Court (ICC) last year.  Gbagbo has applied for a passport so that he can return home to Ivory Coast ahead presidential elections. A pro-Gbagbo coalition called Together for Democracy and Sovereignty (EDS) said in a statement “it will submit president Laurent Gbagbo’s candidacy, in line with scheduled procedures”, AFP reported.  Political tensions in the west African nation have been growing ever since incumbent President Alassane Ouattara declared his candidacy for a third term last month.   The decision outraged many opponents.  Four people were killed in violent confrontations following President Ouattara’s decision to run for a third term many condemn as “illegal” and against the nation’s constitution.  President Ouattara shocked the  country when he formally accepted the nomination of the ruling party to be its candidate in October’s election.  The constitution limits presidents to two terms.   If he succeeds in his bid, Ouattara’s rule could last a total of 20 years.