Côte d’Ivoire’s former First Lady Simone Gbagbo was cleared to stand in next month’s presidential election.
The 76-year-old’s inclusion in a list of five candidates came as a surprise following the controversial disqualification of other candidates, raising global concerns about the Oct. 25 vote in Francophone West Africa’s largest economy.
Among those barred were Gbagbo’s former husband, ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, as well as the previous presidential frontrunner, ex-Credit Suisse bank CEO Tidjane Thiam.
Simone Gbagbo’s “candidacy is not only politically significant but symbolically powerful in a country where women remain largely underrepresented in national leadership,” the BBC noted. In 2015, the ex-first lady and former MP was sentenced to 20 years in prison over her role in deadly post-election violence in 2010, but she was granted amnesty three years later.