Global Policy Forum

By Peter Murphy

The naming of a new prime minister has breathed fresh life into divided Ivory Coast's faltering peace process but squabbling could soon arise over how much authority he should have, analysts said on Monday. Charles Konan Banny, 63, governor of West Africa's central bank, was named prime minister late on Sunday by African peace mediators working to reunite the West African state, which has been split in two by a 2002 civil war.

Banny is due to have an expanded mandate under a U.N.-backed deal giving him powers to carry out disarmament and electoral reforms with the aim of organising presidential elections by the end of October next year. The same U.N. plan allowed President Laurent Gbagbo to remain in office beyond the Oct. 30 end of his five-year mandate until presidential polls are held in the world's top cocoa grower, divided between a rebel-occupied north and government-held south. Gbagbo signed a decree naming Banny prime minister on Monday after outgoing premier Seydou Diarra handed his resignation. "I hope that trust will return to this country. I hope to be the catalyst for this trust which we have missed so much," Banny told reporters after he met Gbagbo at the presidential palace.

"I have come to answer...the call of my brothers and sisters ... to begin with them the job of national reconciliation." Ivory Coast's warring factions had to agree on the new prime minister as part of an African Union peace formula endorsed by the U.N. Security Council. But Gbagbo's government, opposition parties and the rebels had been haggling for weeks over who should get the job. Reactions from rebel and opposition sides to Banny's nomination have been positive. He is well regarded for his distance from Ivorian politics and economic expertise. But analysts said there could be disagreement over the extent of Banny's executive powers under the U.N. plan. The opposition argues that Gbagbo becomes merely a figurehead president under the U.N. resolution which they also say gives the prime minister full executive powers over security, defence and electoral matters. But the government says Banny is being appointed by the president under the constitution and is subordinate to him. "It could be a point of conflict," Gilles Yabi, Ivory Coast analyst for the Brussels-based think tank International Crisis Group, told Reuters.

Different Interpretations

"There are always different interpretations between the presidential side and the other parties," Yabi added. He said naming the prime minister was a step forward and allowed preparations for the elections and progress on the crucial disarmament process to begin. But he predicted difficulties could arise. "Each of these steps will be difficult to achieve because the political scene is still polarised," he added. A European diplomat said that although the atmosphere had improved through the nomination after weeks of arguing, the dispute over Banny's powers would surface sooner or later. "Gbagbo supporters are keeping the constitutional argument in their pocket. They are not letting it go. I think there will still be a bit of fighting over the details," he said.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C íŸ 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.