Nesbitt:
« Having elections as soon as possible »

Fraternité-Matin
 -
"The ambassador of the United States of America to Côte d'Ivoire
yesterday reiterated the need to have elections as soon as possible. After a
meeting with the President of the Republic, Laurent Gbagbo, in his office in
Plateau, Her Excellency Wanda Nesbitt said: "I did not ask the head of State to
fix a new date because I know that maybe it is too early. But I believe that
elections must be organized as soon as possible". The American diplomat believes
that the formation of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will accelerate
the electoral process in Côte d'Ivoire. "I feel that Ivorians and all of the
political parties have confidence in Mr. Bakayoko Youssouf (new chairman of the
IEC, editor's note). So I hope that this is a good sign and that this Commission
will be able to resume the work as soon as possible in order to complete the
electoral list and organize elections", she stressed. [...]"

 

Michel Amani
N'Guessan (Minister of Defense): The resurgence of war between the FAFN and the
FDS is no longer possible

Fraternité-Matin
 -
"4 March 2007- 4 March 2010, three years ago, the belligerents in
the Ivorian crisis concluded a political arrangement.

(...) You are
certainly informed of the latest report of the United Nations Secretary-General
on Côte d'Ivoire, which mentions violation of the embargo and rearmament of both
armies, the FAFN and the FDS. Do you not fear an explosion?

Minister of
defense:
No. I do not have this concern. The resurgence of war is not
possible. In the current state of the situation, resurgence of war is
impossible, especially between the FAFN and the FDS in Côte d'Ivoire. Now, the
country being attacked by another force, I can not exclude this possibility. You
know, there are always adventurers who can manage to attack the country. (...).
But I would like to reassure you that with regard to the rebellion which stemmed
from the failed coup on 19 September 2002, there is no more possibility of a
resurgence of war. No, this is not possible. [...] "

 

Elections/
handover – Beugré at the IEC's office this morning

L'Intelligent
d'Abidjan -
"This morning the newly appointed chairman of the Independent
Electoral Commission officially starts working in his office. Youssouf Bakayoko
will be in front of Chairman Beugré Mambé "who is returning to the Republic" (...)
After almost one month of "reclusion", the ex-chairman of the IEC will enter
into his now ex-office which is under tight surveillance by the national
gendarmerie as instructed by the Commander in Chief Philippe Mangou. He will
carry out the handover between Youssouf Bakayoko who is his successor and
himself. This ceremony will mark Mambé's return in the Republic, he, who has
been keeping a low profile since "fatwa 48" of the head of State. For sure
everybody will be looking at the IEC and the handover will be followed from
beginning to end. (...)"

 

 

 

Resumption of
electoral process- RHDP ministers are blocking the IEC

Nord Sud  -

"Though the lock on the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)
had been removed, the resumption of the electoral process still depends on the
complete formation of the government.

(...) According to
one of the newly-appointed leaders in the IEC that we met yesterday, beyond the
seals on the offices whose removal they were awaiting, there is the fact that
the new chairman of the IEC, formerly minister of foreign affairs, should carry
out the handover to his successor in the government, before receiving in his
turn from his predecessor the files of the IEC. This means that, without special
dispensation, the IEC's handover still depends on the complete formation of the
government. The handover is scheduled for Thursday or Friday", our first
interlocutor tells us cautiously. [...]"

 

After installing the new
chairman of the IEC: the electoral list will be audited soon

Le Quotidien
 - "The provisional voters
list produced by the IEC, according Beugré Mambé's version, will be entirely
audited in the coming days. It will be screened and the names of petitioners who
have been fraudulently registered or introduced by the process we now know will
be removed. The idea of this action had evolved following concerns expressed by
some people like the First Lady Simone Gbagbo, who had clearly indicated names
of the deceased which were miraculously found on the voters list and that they
must be absolutely removed. The governor of Abidjan district had, also trumpeted
the same thing, and had even identified the first magistrate of Adjamé as being
to blame for the registration of thousands of non-Ivorians. According to our
sources, the provisional list provided by Beugré Mambé and his staff will be
closely examined. [...] ".

 

Dissolution of the government
and the IEC - Konate Navigué: "our next battle is disarmament"

L'Inter
 - "The FPI's national
secretary for youth, Konate Navigué met with students at the "city for the
married" in Port-Bouet, last Monday to talk about the social and political
situation in the country. [...]''Our next battle is disarmament ... Our new
battle is a flawless list in a reunified country [...] On March 6, we have to
 be at Champroux to learn from what happened and identify new perspectives" he
said. Note that Navigué Konate continues his city tour to mobilize young people
for this event. [....]. "

 

Threat on the peace process:
the member of the parliament, Marie Odette Lorougnon sowed division among her
citizens. Lorougnon Odette, Laurent Gbagbo's Campaign manager for Attécoubé:
"I'm xenophobic and tribal ..."

Le Mandat
 - "The attitude of Laurent
Gbagbo's Campaign Manager for Attécoubé Lorougnon Marie-Odette was considered by
her constituency repulsive, especially because she is their MP. According to
residents, Ms. Lorougnon has compiled a list of people she wished to be removed
from the electoral list because they have no right to appear on it. For her, the
resident said these people are aliens. Her position has infuriated some of her
voters who are regretting now giving her their votes during the last legislative
election. It is even said that she had compiled a list of people coming from
nowhere and had asked for their insertion on the electoral list.Something that
has caused unrest in this city. These facts, the member of the parliament from
Attécoubé does not seem to reject. "If it's to save my country, I accept to be
called xenophobic, Ivoiritaire and tribalist" she proclaimed during a rally on
Sunday in Attécoubé. She said her motive is to remove aliens from the voters
list. On what basis does she classify some people as aliens? What is her proof
to support such assertions?  According to our sources, these are questions that
the victims of Lorougnon are asking and to which they have not yet found an
answer. For them, her attitude is arbitrary and without any foundation. Worse,
the list was compiled on a basis of tribalism. For most of their constituency
she is after northerners and Akan including many members of the FPI whom she
considers opposition activists. [...] "