(MENAFN) A court in Ivory Coast has ruled to remove the primary opposition leader from the electoral list, declaring him ineligible to run in the presidential election set for October.

The Court of First Instance of Abidjan-Plateau stated that Tidjane Thiam, the leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Ivory Coast (PDCI), lost his Ivorian citizenship when he became a French citizen in 1987.

This ruling came just one week after his party had officially nominated him as their candidate for the October 25 presidential election.

Thiam has vehemently criticized the decision, calling it "unfair, unjustified, and incomprehensible."

He argued that members of the ruling RHDP party were behind what he described as a "political decision" disguised as a legal ruling.

The RHDP has not yet announced its candidate for the upcoming election, though current Leader Alassane Ouattara is widely expected to run for a third term.

Additionally, ex-President Laurent Gbagbo, along with three other notable politicians, has been banned from participating in the race.

Thiam, who previously served as the CEO of Credit Suisse, was also the planning minister in 1998 under the former PDCI government, before it was overthrown in a coup the following year.

MENAFN23042025000045017167ID1109461692