The PPA-CI has removed 22 of its senior figures from the party after they chose to stand as independent candidates in Côte d’Ivoire’s 27 December legislative elections, defying a directive to boycott the polls.
The sanctioned group includes six outgoing MPs and prominent personalities such as Antoni Garou and Georges Armand Ouégnin, whose names appear on the provisional list of approved candidates. In a strongly worded statement, the party condemned what it called “deliberate disobedience,” signalling its resolve to maintain discipline within its ranks.
Also expelled is Stéphane Kipré, formerly the party’s executive vice-president, who announced that he takes full responsibility for his decision to contest in Gboguhe.
Other figures breaking with the party line include Blaise Lasm, who is running in Dabou on the PDCI-RDA ticket, despite the alliance between the two opposition parties. The fragmentation is not limited to the PPA-CI, as unendorsed members of both the PDCI-RDA and the ruling RHDP are likewise entering the race as independents, pointing to growing internal dissent ahead of the vote.