Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara will meet his two predecessors Laurent Gbagbo and Henri Konan Bédié on 14 July, the government spokesman announced on Wednesday, a meeting that confirms the easing of the political climate in recent months.
“This meeting is scheduled for 14 July,” said Amadou Coulibaly after the council of ministers. “The head of state speaks regularly with the two former presidents by phone but it was also important that this meeting took place,” Coulibaly added.
The idea of a meeting between the three men was one of the recommendations of the political dialogue between the government and the opposition held earlier this year to calm the political climate in Côte d’Ivoire.
The country has experienced several political crises in recent years involving these three men, who have been at the forefront of the political scene for decades. In 2010, the presidential duel between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara led to a post-electoral crisis that left some 3,000 people dead and led to Gbagbo’s arrest in April 2011.
In 2020, electoral violence during the presidential elections left 85 people dead and 500 injured. The election, boycotted by Mr. Bédié, saw the re-election of President Alassane Ouattara for a controversial third term, deemed unconstitutional by the opposition.