COTE D’IVOIRE: President SARKOZY claims free and fair elections

In February 2007, in Ouagadougou, President Blaise COMPAORE facilitated a talk between the Ivorian president GBAGBO Laurent and SORO Guillaume the Secretary General of the former rebel forces (Forces Nouvelles). This talk paved the way for Ouagadougou Agreement signed by both Laurent GBAGBO and SORO Guillaume on March 4^th 2007.

The preceding Peace Agreements and Talks: Lomé Talk (Togo), Marcoussis Peace Agreement (France), Pretoria I and Pretoria II Peace Agreements (South Africa), Accra I, II, II Peace Agreements (Ghana) and the various UN Security Council resolutions failed to pave the way for free and fair elections in Côte d’Ivoire.

Ouagadougou Agreement and its additional clauses signed by President Laurent GBAGBO and the Prime Minister SORO Guillaume focus on the disarmament, the demobilization and the reintegration issues. This political agreement also focuses on the mobile courts’ process to issue birth certificate to people above 13 years old and who have never been registered at the Civil office.

The implementation of the additional clauses has been postponed many times and the population is still worrying about the credibility of the presidential election due later June 2008. This date will certainly be delayed once more and President GBAGBO sees no risk linked to this postponement. Speaking to ONUCI-FM (the radio station of the UN mission operations in Côte d’Ivoire) on March 4^th 2008, President GBAGBO said: “I am serene because I know that we are stepping towards elections, calmly […] We are working to organize presidential elections in June 2008, but if there is no election in 2008, there will be no death […] I we are not through with the organization of this elections, will just inform Ivorians that we are not through with electoral organization, and that’s all […]”.

President SARKOZY, who takes an interest in the Ivorian crisis since its very beginning, now claims free and fair election in Côte d’Ivoire and also the respect of the Schedule of this election as planned by the additional clauses of Ouagadougou Political Agreement.

During the conversation he has had with the facilitator Blaise COMPAORE, President of Burkina Faso, on Friday 7^th March 2008, President Nicolas SAZKOZY recalled that “it is essential that the electoral process in Côte d’Ivoire be credible. This credibility will depend on free and fair election”.

For the time being, Ivorians need disarmament and elections but there are fears that electoral fraud and protest might bring violent turmoil and upheavals in the country.

Selay M.K.