Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo arrives in the town of Oume for the official start of a cocoa factory – (Photo by Yann LATRONCHE/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images) In a solemn communiqué made public on Monday, the President of the Ivorian Constitutional Council, Chantal Nanaba Camara, unveiled the definitive list of candidates authorized to compete in the presidential election of 25 October 2025. Of the sixty or so dossiers lodged with the Commission électorale indépendante (CEI), only five were retained, marking a highly selective and already marked by controversies. Among the validated figures are the outgoing President Alassane Ouattara and the former Prime Minister Simone Ehivet Gbagbo, while heavy opposition figures like Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam have been recalled. This narrow list of five contenders opens the way to an intense competition, where Ouattara is the favorite but where Simone Gbagbo could mobilize the opposition. It remains to be seen whether these elections will strengthen Ivorian democracy or revive the divisions of the past.
President-election in Côte d’Ivoire 2025: The Constitutional Council has five candidates, including Ouattara and Simone Gbagbo, and Écarte Gbagbo and Thiam
