Côte D’ivoire: Ban Calls for Prompt Release of Presidential Poll Results
New York, Dec 1 2010 3:10PM
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today warned all sides in Côte d'Ivoire not to interfere with the body overseeing last
Sunday’s presidential election so that provisional results can be announced today as scheduled – a major step in efforts
to reunite a country split in two by civil war.
According to media reports, a supporter of President Laurent Gbagbo yesterday tore up the first announcements of partial
results, and journalists were barred from entering the Independent Election Commission’s office today. Supporters of
former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara, Mr. Gbagbo’s rival in Sunday’s run-off vote, accused the president of trying to
block the result because he lost. Mr. Gbagbo’s supporters have alleged fraud in Mr. Ouattara’s base in the north.
“The Secretary-General urges the Independent Electoral Commission to announce the provisional results of the second
round of the presidential election without delay, today, 1 December 2010,” a statement by Mr. Ban’s spokesman said,
noting that preliminary findings by international observer missions found that the vote was conducted in an overall
satisfactory and credible manner.
Mr. Ban’s Special Representative for Côte d’Ivoire, Y. J. Choi, also found the elections to have been conducted in a
democratic climate, despite some regrettable incidents, some of which were violent, in different parts of the country.
“He calls upon all stakeholders to allow the Independent Electoral Commission to complete its work without interference
in order to ensure the integrity of the results of the election,” the statement said. “The Secretary-General emphasizes
that any disruption in the electoral process would not be in the interest of the people of Côte d’Ivoire or the future
stability of the country.”
The West African country, the world’s largest cocoa exporter, was split by civil war in 2002 into a
Government-controlled south and a rebel-held north, and the UN mission, known as UNOCI, with a current strength of over
9,000 uniformed personnel, has been supporting reunification efforts, of which Sunday’s vote was a principal step.
Mr. Ban said that Mr. Choi would continue his efforts to safeguard the electoral process “so that the will of the
Ivorian people as expressed in the election will be respected. The United Nations will continue to provide its full
support to the completion of the electoral operations and to the Ivorian peace process as a whole,” the statement added.
In his latest report on UNOCI, which was prepared before Sunday’s run-off and released today, Mr. Ban hailed the massive
voter turnout during the first round on 31 October, the peaceful atmosphere in which the electoral campaign and the
voting were conducted, and the readiness of the candidates and their supporters to accept the results proclaimed by the
Constitutional Council.
He voiced concern that the media can still play a negative role in fanning political tensions and inciting violence. “As
Côte d’Ivoire stands on the brink of reaching a milestone on the long path from conflict to peace, such divisiveness
should belong in the past,” he wrote. “The Secretary-General calls on all stakeholders to reject such rhetoric and to
hold those who engage in it accountable through the appropriate mechanisms.
“Looking beyond the second round of the presidential elections, the Secretary-General urges Ivorian leaders and their
supporters to respect the outcome of the elections and to enter the next phase in a spirit of reconciliation, with the
aim of installing the newly elected institutions without delay.”
He noted that parliamentary elections still remain to be held and he pledges UNOCI’s support for them. “Although the
successful conclusion of the electoral cycle represents a critical step in the peace process and will provide a basis
for a drawdown of UNOCI, the elections on their own will not provide a solution to the Ivorian crisis,” he stressed,
calling on the parties to complete remaining issues, particularly reunification-related tasks set out in previous
accords.
ENDS