Ivory Coast Election 2025: The Key opponents taking on President Ouattara
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara will seek a fourth term in office when the West African nation holds elections on October 25.
As the world’s largest cocoa producer prepares for another crucial vote, four main opposition figures are vying to unseat the 83-year-old leader, who has dominated Ivorian politics for over a decade.
Simone Gbagbo: From first lady to opposition leader
Among Ouattara’s challengers is Simone Gbagbo, 76, a veteran political figure and former first lady. Once a close ally of her ex-husband and former president Laurent Gbagbo, she was arrested alongside him in 2011 after post-election violence that left around 3,000 people dead.
Convicted of crimes against the state and sentenced to 20 years in prison, she was granted amnesty in 2018. Now leading the Movement of Skilled Generations party, founded in 2022, Gbagbo has positioned herself as a voice for social justice. At her campaign launch early in October, she acknowledged Ouattara’s infrastructure gains but said Ivorians were demanding better health care and jobs.
Jean-Louis Billon: The Business-focused reformist
Businessman and former trade minister Jean-Louis Billon, 60, is contesting the election under the Democratic Congress, a coalition of 18 parties and movements. Billon had initially sought to represent the main opposition Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire (PDCI) but was sidelined after the party’s leader, Tidjane Thiam, was disqualified over dual nationality issues.
Billon has promised to modernize the public sector, curb corruption, and attract more private investment. He has also pledged to move some government offices to the political capital, Yamoussoukro, and to amend laws that restrict dual citizenship. “It’s time for Ouattara and his generation to leave the scene,” Billon said in a recent interview with Reuters.
Ahoua Don Mello: The independent nationalist
Ahoua Don Mello, 67, a former spokesperson for Laurent Gbagbo during the 2010–11 crisis, is running as an independent after being expelled from Gbagbo’s African People’s Party (PPA-CI) for defying its election boycott. He argues that participating in the vote is essential to avoid a repeat of 2020, when the opposition’s boycott handed Ouattara a landslide victory. Don Mello has called for Ivory Coast to abandon the CFA franc currency and revise its defence agreements with France. While critics accuse him of pushing a pro-Russian agenda, he recently told France 24 that he was not “Vladimir Putin’s man.”
Henriette Lagou Adjoua: The centrist advocate for women
Henriette Lagou Adjoua, 66, a former minister for social affairs and women’s affairs, is also joining the race. Representing the Group of Political Partners for Peace, a centrist coalition, she is campaigning on a platform of reconciliation and gender inclusion.
Adjoua, who also ran unsuccessfully in 2015, has urged Ivorians to heal the “wounds of the past” and push for greater female representation in politics. Her recent book, Why Not a Woman?, advocates for a more inclusive political landscape.
As Ouattara seeks to extend his long rule, the October 25 election will test Ivorians’ appetite for continuity versus change, and whether the country’s fractured opposition can mount a credible challenge.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
