Côte d’Ivoire / UNOCI chief receives presidential majority delegation
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, November 29, 2010/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, received a delegation from The Presidential Majority (LMP, French acronym) led by Issa Malick Coulibaly, national campaign director of presidential candidate Laurent Gbagbo, on Sunday night at the headquarters of the UN Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).
« We requested this meeting to bring to the knowledge of the Special Representative the developments observed during the voting process throughout the country, mainly in the Central, Northern and Western zones”, Mr. Coulibaly said after the meeting, held about five hours after polling stations closed.
According to Mr. Coulibaly, many LMP militants and sympathizers registered in those areas were aggressed, molested, chased away and prevented from voting. Some were seriously wounded, he added. “We informed Mr. Choi of all those facts so as to find, together, solutions for saving the vote and the entire process in which the United Nations has been engaged at the side of Côte d’Ivoire,” the campaign director stressed.
The last phase marking the end of the crisis took place today despite some irregularities, because the opposition blocked everything and the IEC [Independent Electoral Commission] has, by law, only three days to proclaim the provisional results, Mr. Coulibaly said, stressing that “if these issues are not settled quickly, the election would be lost not only for Côte d’Ivoire, but also for all the friends who are helping our country, including UNOCI”.
He said that, at this stage, no arrangements have been made to resolve these problems. “We have brought the information and we are together in a process of reflection that has to involve the camps of the two candidates with the arbitration of all the internationals so that the truth can be said once and for all,” Mr. Coulibaly added.
According to the LMP official, the Special Representative has taken note of, and expressed his concern over, these “worrying issues”. “The discussions that Mr Choi has already begun at a high level will continue, and he has asked us to continue the reflection with him so as to find a solution to these difficulties because the risk of Côte d’Ivoire losing these elections is great,” he concluded.
SOURCE
Mission of UN in Côte d’Ivoire
