World leaders have voiced their support for Ivory Coast opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara, saying he is the true winner of a presidential run-off, BBC reports Saturday.
The US, UN, France and the West African bloc Ecowas have urged President Laurent Gbagbo to accept defeat. Nevertheless the Wes african country’s Constitutional Council has overturned results to declare Mr. Gbagbo the winner – he is due to be sworn in shortly.
On Thursday, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) declared that Mr Ouattara had won the 28 November run-off by 54,1 per cent to 45,9 per cent of the votes.
But after Mr Gbagbo and his supporters alleged the ballot had been fraudulent, the Constitutional Council overruled the Commission.
Chairman Paul Yao N’Dre (a close ally of the President) said Mr Gbagbo had secured just over 51 per cent of the vote. Ivorian state media said Mr Gbagbo would be sworn in at a midday ceremony on Saturday.
The council decision is likely to cause considerable unrest because of the widely accepted view here and among the international community that Alassane Ouattara won the vote.
All eyes now turn to the nearly 10.000-strong UN peacekeeping mission which has an official mandate in certifying these election results.
At the luxury Golf hotel in the Rivieria area of Abidjan UN tanks protected the building where Mr Ouattara and the electoral commissioner are thought to be sheltering.
US President Barack Obama has rejected the council’s decision.
He congratulated Mr Ouattara and said the international community would “hold those who act to thwart the democratic process and the will of the electorate accountable for their actions”.
– Independent Electoral Commission, credible and accredited observers and the United Nations have all confirmed this result and attested to its credibility, he said.
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France – the former colonial power in Ivory Coast – told Mr Gbagbo to “respect the will of the people, abstain from any action that might provoke violence” and to help establish peace.
The head of the UN mission in Ivory Coast also said it regarded Mr Ouattara as the winner, while the African Union said it was “deeply concerned” by the developments.
Once hailed as a model of stability, Ivory Coast slipped into strife several years after death of first President Felix Houphouet-Boigny in 1993. The presidential poll – the first in ten years – was intended to reunify the world’s largest cocoa producer after a civil war in 2002.
The two candidates represent the two sides of the north-south divide that exists religiously, culturally and administratively, with the northern half still controlled in part by the former rebels. Mr. Quattara is a muslim, and Mr. Ghagbo a christian.
