Reconciliation process:  Choi
has confidence in the country's future

Fraternité Matin -
The Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations,
Young-Jin Choi, said on August 26 in Abidjan that a new chapter of Cote
d'Ivoire's history has started. The head of the United Nations Operation in Côte
d'Ivoire (UNOCI), who was talking about his mission in Cote d'Ivoire, during a
press conference, said that the new Ivoirian authorities must achieve the
restoration of stability, national reconciliation, elections and economic
recovery. He also said that they must work to reassure about peace in Cote
d'Ivoire. He said the country must work for its prosperity and economic
recovery.

YJ Choi says legislatives will
be possible before the end of the year

Le Nouveau Réveil-
I think technically it is possible to have the legislatives before the end of
this year. But major policy decisions such as the number of members of
parliament must be taken. We have right now 225 members on the basis of 1999
population. Twelve years later, 6 million persons have probably been added to
the population. Therefore some people think that it is necessary to increase the
number of parliamentarians in proportion to population growth. These issues can
be resolved before the elections by the Ivorians. It is the responsibility of
the Ivorian political class.... For me, I leave with a sense of accomplishment of
my mission.

Post-electoral crisis/
"Minister Desire Tagro was the one who planned everything," Y.J. Choi reveals

Le Mandat - [...]
According to the Ivorian-American online journal lebanco.net, before his final
departure from Côte d'Ivoire, the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations for Côte d'Ivoire, Choi Young Jin, made
revelations about the degree of responsibility of two personalities in the
deterioration of the situation after the elections. For him, "the interior
minister was the one who planned everything." The UN diplomat bluntly denounced
at a press conference on Friday August 26, the responsibility of the former
President of the Constitutional Council, Paul Yao N'dré and former Interior
Minister Desire Tagro  in the attempted usurpation of power by the former
president, Laurent Gbagbo. [...].

Alassane Ouattara: "I came back
put the country back to work"

L'Expression –
After a two-week private visit in Paris, the President of the Republic, Alassane
Ouattara, came back to Abidjan yesterday at 17h45. At the airport Alassane
Ouattara said that he was very anxious to put every one back to work. "I am very
happy to be back and get back to work or rather to continuing the work because I
never stopped working hard even there. I was on the phone constantly with the
State Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Prime Minister, and the
Secretary General of the Presidency and several members of the government. So I
can tell you going away sometimes is good. I am back," President Ouattara said.
"I've been away a few days for a private visit. I took the opportunity to do a
health check. I am glad that the doctors told me I was in a perfect health. "

Printing of elections posters
and ballots: 17 printeries receive 1.4 billion from IEC

Le Patriote
– Seventeen (17) out of fifty printeries have been selected to produce ballot
papers, posters of candidates and other small documents for the legislatives.
These companies received CFA 1.4 billion in partial payments on Friday, August
26 from the President of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Youssouf
Bakayoko, at the IEC headquarters.

IMF team in Abidjan for talks

Le Patriote
- Mechanisms for the cancellation of Ivorian debt are still operative. For this
purpose, a mission of the Africa Department of International Monetary Fund will
be in Abidjan from 31 August to 14 September. This mission is led by Doris Ross,
Deputy Director of the Department.