On Saturday, the executive director of the ruling party, Adama Bictogo, was among those in attendance at the party congress. Ouattara won a controversial third term late last year after the opposition claimed many of its candidates were disqualified, including Gbagbo.

Ouattara ultimately prevailed and has been the president of Ivory Coast ever since. The post-election conflict left more than 3,000 people dead and brought the country back to the brink of civil war.

He served as president from 2000 until his arrest in 2011 after he refused to concede defeat to Alassane Ouattara. The creation of Gbagbo's new political party comes amid lingering questions about his future political aspirations. The ex-president is expected to address his supporters on Sunday, organizers said. On Saturday, Gbagbo greeted a crowd of more than 1,600 delegates in Abidjan, many holding small flags bearing his image. Organizers say the proposed name of Gbagbo's new party is the African People's Party - Ivory Coast, shortened to its French acronym, PPA-CI. Gbagbo was extradited to The Hague in 2011 and his Ivorian Popular Front party splintered three years later - with one faction led by N'Guessan, while former first lady Simone Gbagbo played a prominent role in the other. Gbagbo, 76, who returned home in June after his acquittal was upheld, announced a few months later that he would be setting up a new party in order to avoid legal battles with his former ally, Pascal Affi N'Guessan. Former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo launched a new political party Saturday, formally breaking ties with those who ran his previous party while he spent years facing war crimes charges at the International Criminal Court.

Ivory coast