The African Peoples’ Party – Côte d’Ivoire (PPA-CI), led by former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, has formally launched the “Enough is Enough” movement and a joint front with the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI).
These initiatives are presented as a direct response to what the opposition describes as a “pre-election crisis” and the prospect of President Alassane Ouattara seeking a fourth term.
During the PPA-CI’s 38th weekly forum, Justin Koné Katinan, President of the Strategy and Policy Council of the PPA-CI, emphatically stated that a fourth term for President Ouattara would “not be accepted.” He asserted that the PPA-CI rejects the notion of Ouattara pursuing another term, arguing that there are no longer any valid justifications for the current head of state to run again in the presidential election. Dr. Katinan Koné contended that both national and international opinion agree the country is in an “artificially created” pre-election crisis, allegedly orchestrated by the ruling Rally of Houphouëtists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) which, in his view, “has never won a fair election since 2010.”
Koné Katinan insisted that it is a “constant in political life and in the RHDP’s political approach to artificially create crises and take advantage of them to be the only candidate, or at least one candidate, with favored candidates.” He warned that this strategy would not succeed this time.
He reiterated that the “Enough is Enough” movement, established by Laurent Gbagbo and overseen by PPA-CI Executive President Dano Djédjé, is open to all citizens regardless of political affiliation. This movement is positioned as a “collective” response to Alassane Ouattara’s “attempt” at a fourth term and aims to articulate “an expression of the fed-up feeling of those who have suffered under the RHDP’s governance.”
While the Ivorian Constitution stipulates two five-year terms for the President, the Constitutional Council in 2020 ruled that Mr. Ouattara, elected in 2010 and re-elected in 2015, could be a candidate for a third term, citing that the 2016 constitutional revision reset the term clock.
Koné Katinan also echoed PPA-CI President Laurent Gbagbo’s call for an “active coalition, driven by unwavering determination, without violence, to express the fed-up feeling of the entire population” of Côte d’Ivoire. He explained that the rapprochement between the PPA-CI and PDCI seeks to create conditions for a peaceful, transparent, and inclusive election, with their joint front demanding a credible and inclusive electoral process.
The opposition further calls for the reinstatement of former President Laurent Gbagbo, Tidjane Thiam, Soro Guillaume, and Charles Blé Goudé on the electoral roll. They also demand a revision of the 2025 electoral roll in accordance with the provisions of the electoral law and a structural reform of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) to guarantee its independence and enable the transparent proclamation of results, polling station by polling station.
Additionally, they urge the immediate initiation of a political dialogue involving all political forces and civil society to achieve democratic, peaceful, and credible elections. Koné Katinan affirmed, “President Laurent Gbagbo is the exclusive candidate of the PPA-CI, regardless of the arrangements people make elsewhere. This is a non-negotiable issue,” emphasizing that his candidacy remains non-negotiable, irrespective of any external terms.
AP/Sf/fss/abj/APA