Following Laurent Gbagbo’s final acquittal at the ICC, there is also the question of the future of the FPI, and more precisely the current party leader Pascal Affi N’Guessan.
as reported from Abidjan, Sidy Yansane
The former Prime Minister of Laurent Gbagbo is at odds with his mentor, the latter supporting the diverse edge that the EDS platform carries. Will the former Ivorian president take over the reins of his political formation when he returns to the country?
Pascal Affi N’Guessan rejects this possibility: “No agreement on the reunification of the FPI has been made between President Gbagbo and myself.”
► To read also: Acquittal of Laurent Gbagbo before the ICC: is it possible to return to the Ivory Coast?
A year ago, after a meeting with Laurent Gbagbo in Brussels, the president of the so-called “legal” FPI assured that his mentor, once back in the country, would be ready to lead the party together and occupy Affi N’Guessan’s vice presidency.
But since then, the merger with the EDS platform, close to the former head of state, has been jeopardized. “However, we distinguish between institutional legitimacy and what they can call charismatic legitimacy. The reality is that REIT lives on. The ideal would really be that this unit would take place. But in the current situation, we note that there is FPI and there is EDS “, explains the Secretary General of FPI-legal, Issiaka Sangaré.
Pascal Affi N’Guessan has always been considered by “Gbagbo or nothing” as a pawn for the current head of state Alassane Ouattara to divide the opposition. For Jean-Gervais Tchéidé, Vice President of the EDS, it will all depend on Laurent Gbagbo’s decision: “Will Pascal Affi N’Guessan continue to accept being the Trojan horse of Ouattara power in the FPI House ?? I strongly doubt it. We will certainly re-establish the family around President Gbagbo and then go and give the Ivorians a credible alternative. ”
For “Gbagbo or nothing”, there is only one priority: the great boss’ return to the Ivory Coast.
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