Abidjan, 24 September 2010... «In keeping with certification mandate vested upon me by the Security Council, I have the honour to explicitly certify the final list of 5, 725, 720 registered voters for the upcoming elections », the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y. J. Choi, declared on Friday, in Abidjan.

Speaking during a press conference at the mission's headquarters, the Special Representative explained the major stages, over the past five years, that culminated in the certification of the final voters list: the mobile court hearings, the reconstitution of state registers, the identification operation, the establishment of the provisional electoral list, and the appeals on the list.

«At the end of each of these stages, I certified it implicitly through a press conference during which I made a positive assessment of the work accomplished,» he explained.

Mr. Choi also recalled that the two fundamental criteria for certification, peace and inclusion had generally prevailed since the signing of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, despite a few hitches here and there. Earlier, the head of UNOCI said that the procedures adopted during the long process had given people the opportunity to register to vote.

In this regard, the Special Representative recalled his working method throughout the process leading to the constitution of the final electoral list.
"I closely monitored the consultations between the parties, examined and analysed the procedures agreed on and closely followed their implementation," he said, adding that he had given priority to consultations and dialogue with civil society, national institutions and the stakeholders in charge of the electoral process, including political actors, the Facilitator and international partners.

In conclusion, he highlighted the remaining challenges that have to be met together with the Ivorian people for the effective organisation of the election on 31 October. "The challenges are mainly of a logistical and technical nature, » he said, indicating that UNOCI was stepping up its contacts with donors, namely the European Union (EU) and Japan, as well as with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and other national institutions "so we don't miss the train".

Concerning UNOCI's support to meet the remaining challenges, Mr. Choi announced that the Mission has been asked by the Prime Minister's Office to provide assistance to protect some sites where electoral materials were being produced and to transport them. "We have already promised to do so, » he said. He recalled that the Integrated Command Centre (ICC) was responsible in the first instance for providing security for the electoral process, "but everybody knows that there is a lot of progress to be made in this regard,» he said. According to the Special Representative, security arrangements, including the presence of the Impartial Forces, should be enough to safeguard the elections. "I'm confident that through the ICC on one hand, the Impartial Forces on the other and the other available security institutions, we will be able to provide security for the rest of the electoral process, in agreement with the four generals who meet regularly on the issue," said Mr. Choi.

Responding to a question on equitable access to state media, the Special Representative said that these media were one of the five criteria for certifying the elections. He recalled that the national institutions were already dealing with the issue to which UNOCI gives special attention. In this regard, he stressed the need for equitable access to the media throughout the country.

Asked about UNOCI's plans to prevent possible fraud, Mr. Choi said there were several mechanisms to avoid this. «Sagem and INS, the two technical operators work closely together, there is the IEC, the United Nations as well as hundreds of national and international observers, » he explained. «As the certifier, I shall not allow any fraud to tarnish the election results, » he concluded.