63. The Applicant further avers that he filed an appeal, but on 29 October 2019, the Abidjan Magistrate’s Court issued a judgment in default, since he was still unable to appear. He points out that the BCEAO withdrew its motion to join the proceedings as a civil party. 64. He also alleges that in the context of the electoral dispute, even before an irrevocable decision was made on his eligibility, the electoral judge had considered him “irremediably guilty” while the time-limits for appealing the default judgment had not expired. 65. The Applicant further avers that on 16 August 2020, the President of the IEC, a magistrate by training, publicly stated on several Ivorian television channels, including NCI and RTI 1, that his criminal conviction had become irrevocable due to the refusal of his lawyers to be served with the default judgment. According to the Applicant, the President of the IEC was thus preparing public opinion for the dismissal of his complaint following the removal of his name from the voters’ register. 66. The Respondent State did not file any submission. 67. Article 7(1)(b) of the Charter provides: Every individual shall have the right to have his cause heard. This comprises […] the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty by a competent court or tribunal. 68. The Court recalls that the right to the presumption of innocence means that any person suspected or accused of an offence is presumed not to have committed it as long as his guilt has not been established by a final judicial decision.17 In this sense, the scope of the right to the presumption of 17 Conaïde Togla Latondji Akouedenoudje v. Republic of Benin, AfCHPR, Application No. 024/2020, Judgment of 13 June 2023, § 62. 15