Global Policy Forum

By Loucoumane Coulibaly

Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo has said he wants to hold long-delayed elections by the end of the year but insisted he will stay in office in the war-divided nation until they take place. His statement late on Sunday on the eve of Independence Day appeared to throw down the gauntlet to the United Nations which must decide next month whether to further extend Gbagbo's mandate if polls are not held by a scheduled Oct 31 deadline.

A U.N.-backed peace plan for the world's top cocoa grower, which has been divided since a 2002/2003 civil war, had already prolonged Gbagbo's expired mandate for up to 12 months from Oct 31 last year after elections failed to take place then. But most experts now concede that repeated delays in the peace process make it almost impossible to hold polls by the end of October, raising the question of whether Gbagbo's mandate should be further extended despite objections from opponents.

In a broadcast to the nation on the eve of Ivory Coast's Independence Day, Gbagbo spelled out his determination to stay in power until elections, repeating an argument he has often used that the country's constitution provides for this.

"I can reassure Ivorians that in accordance with the constitution ... the presidents of the Republic and of the National Assembly are occupying, and will occupy, their roles until the next presidential and legislative elections," he said.

Rebels who occupy the north of the country and political opponents have accused Gbagbo and his supporters of trying to cling to power and of delaying and disrupting identification and disarmament schemes that are key to the holding of elections. Pro-Gbagbo militants in the government-controlled south have staged riots and protests this year, including violent attacks on U.N. personnel and installations in January, against what they say is foreign meddling in the West African country.

Gbagbo said he was committed to the holding of elections, which U.N. officials hope will seal the reunification of the country after several years of conflict that have ruined Ivory Coast's past image as an oasis of peace and prosperity.

"We want elections. We absolutely want elections by the end of this year," the president said in his broadcast.

In recent weeks, at least two people have been killed in clashes over a controversial pre-election identity scheme, which aims to provide identity papers to undocumented Ivorians to allow them to vote in the national elections. Supporters of Gbagbo have opposed the scheme, saying it could be used to give nationality and voting rights to foreigners, especially immigrants from the north, who support the opposition.

On Friday, a programme to disarm militia groups as part of the U.N.-backed peace plan was suspended amid concerns too few weapons were being surrendered, U.N. officials said.

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