Abidjan, 14 October 2008....The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y. J. Choi, on Tuesday reaffirmed the commitment of the Force of the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) to support the provision of security for the electoral process.

Speaking after a meeting with Ivorian Head of State Laurent Gbagbo at his residence in the Abidjan neighbourhood of Cocody, Mr Choi also stressed the irreversibility of the process. "The elections are at hand," he told the press, recalling the "significant strategic advances" registered, particularly in the legal, financial and technical domains. "One now has to move forward from this foundation and achieve identification followed by elections," he said.

Describing as historic the identification operation, launched almost a month ago, that will enable millions of Ivorians to obtain identity papers, Mr Choi said it was now necessary to take up the last remaining challenges, which relate mainly to logistics and security.