Ivorian ex-president Gbagbo barred from elections

Ivory Coast’s former President Laurent Gbagbo has been barred from running for the presidency in upcoming elections after a court upheld the electoral commission’s decision to remove him from the electoral list.

His lawyer Claude Mentenon told AFP news agency that there was no further legal recourse inside Ivory Coast.

The country’s electoral commission struck him off the list of candidates because he was convicted of a crime.

The president of the electoral commission, Ibrahime Coulibaly-Kuibiert, had in August said that anyone convicted of a crime would not be allowed to stand.

He made the announcement while revealing the revised electoral list.

Four candidates including former rebel leader Guillaume Soro were also removed from the list.

Mr Gbagbo was sentenced in absentia in November 2019 for the “looting” of the Central Bank of West African States (Bceao) following a disputed 2010 election that resulted in violence.