A delegation of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) led by Mr. Brian Atwood, a professor at the University of Minnesota in the United States, on Monday, 9 December 2013, held discussions with the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Mr. Arnauld Akodjènou at the headquarters of the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) in Abidjan.



Speaking at the end of the meeting, Mr. Atwood explained that the aim of their visit was to assess the political situation with regard to ensuring that the conditions are right for future elections and assess how Ivorians could vote under the best conditions in order to see what recommendations the NDI could make and how it can support the process. "We were very happy to get a lot of information which will be very useful to us. The mission has made recommendations to the Government," he explained. The recommendations concerned the preparation and organisation of presidential elections in 2010 and legislative elections in 2011 and 2012



Created in 1983, the NDI is a non-governmental organisation which works to strengthen the capacity of local organisations working in elections and citizen participation.