She is one of the most seasoned politicians in this Ivorian election on October 25. Simone Ehivet Gbagbo has a long history of activism. She founded the FPI (Ivorian Popular Front) with her ex-husband, Laurent Gbagbo, at the beginning of multi-party politics in Côte d'Ivoire. She served as head of state alongside him, continuing to exert considerable influence. She was imprisoned for several years following the 2010-2011 political crisis before being pardoned.

Divorced from Laurent Gbagbo, she is now head of the MGC (Mouvement des Générations Capables) which she created in August 2022.

Aged 76, she is running for president with a desire to change the mentality of Ivorians and reconcile them.

In this interview with BBC News Africa, Simone Gbagbo presents the three main pillars of her program, but also discusses the difficult relationship that Côte d'Ivoire has with the AES.

BBC News Africa : You mention three major pillars in your platform presented to Ivorian voters. The first concerns national reconciliation. This topic has already been discussed at length in Côte d'Ivoire, but in your opinion, where do we really stand today? Do you think reconciliation hasn't reached the desired level, or even truly begun yet? And above all, what is your approach to reconciling Ivorians?

Simone Gbagbo : You know, in this country, we have experienced a huge crisis. And so, it is good that Ivorians talk to each other.

Let those who still have things on their hearts agree to forgive. We will have to make pleas for this. And let those who, on the contrary, have struck blows at their fellow citizens ask for forgiveness. That is the first level.

The second level is that during this crisis, we had deaths. Many deaths. Something must be done at the state level to ensure that the dead are recognized. And that we build something for the recognition, the tribute we pay to the dead. The third thing is that there has been a lot of destruction. There has been a lot of property that has been looted. A lot of property stolen. We must be able to organize the restitution of property, fields, houses, and everything that has been stolen. And also, where we cannot restore, but where we can compensate, we compensate. All of these are things that need to be done and have not yet been done.

BBC News Africa: The second pillar of your program focuses on transformation. But when you talk about it, isn't it just about industrial transformation? Are you talking about a broader, more holistic approach to this transformation?

Simone Gbagbo: Yes, of course, there is industrial transformation. Because what we produce there, it is important that we ourselves bring the necessary added value, so that our producers and the Ivorians who will enter these sectors of activity effectively acquire resources, money. But the transformation is first and foremost mental. We are going to work on transforming mentalities. The transformation will also concern education. Completely restructuring education in our country, to be able to train our young people and provide them with the knowledge they truly need today to modernize all our societies. So, transformation in several sectors.

And then thirdly, sovereignty. Today, throughout Africa, we have a real challenge to make Africa grow. And to make Africa grow, we have to work to ensure that Africa becomes more sovereign, less dependent on other powers. And that it is capable of bringing to the rest of the world things, know-how, knowledge, skills, solutions that will help the development and safeguarding of all humanity. And for that, Ivorians, Africans must be capable of making their own decisions for their peoples, for their nations, and for their economy. And that is what we call sovereignty.

BBC News Africa: You're talking about what Côte d'Ivoire and Africa can offer the world. Right on our borders, there are troubled countries. What do you think about the relationships Côte d'Ivoire should have with these countries? I'm talking about the ESA countries.

Simone Gbagbo: But the AES countries are troubled today because they are on the path, precisely, to this conquest of sovereignty. That's what makes them troubled. Because it's not an easy test. But what we can provide is support, it's help so that the AES can succeed. If the AES succeeds, Côte d'Ivoire will succeed. If the AES succeeds, Guinea, Senegal, and Benin will also succeed.

We must therefore support the efforts of the AES to help them progress on the path of development, sovereignty, democracy and respect for the rights of citizens and peoples.

This is how our continent and our sub-region can be built.

In Ivory Coast, we cannot say that we are going to turn our backs on the AES. It is not possible.

BBC News Africa: You have extensive political experience: you've held elected office, led the state alongside your ex-husband, founded a new party, and spent time in prison. How does this comprehensive experience influence your approach and strategy for the upcoming elections?

Simone Gbagbo: I already have all the knowledge of this history that I bring to these elections. I have the quest for true peace that I will bring to these elections. There is a truly profound need to help this Ivory Coast become a prosperous nation, a respected nation. So, I have knowledge, I have relationships, I have experience. I would like to bring all of that to these elections.

BBC News Africa: A word to the voters?

Simone Gbagbo: I would like to tell the voters that it is still possible in this country for us to achieve change and establish a true, truly democratic regime that will create true prosperity in this nation.

What I ask of them is to come out in large numbers to vote. Let no one stay at home: go out and vote. And in this way, participate in the conquest of power, let us establish together this new State, this new nation that is Côte d'Ivoire.

Thank you so much