Electoral process: Civil
society demands the date of elections to the IEC

Le Patriote  – (...)
Sporadic
information, analyses, comments and speculations on the electoral timetable and
the date of the presidential elections are listed in newspapers. For the Rule of
Law and Equal Chances Commission (CEDEC) of the Ivorian Civil Society Convention
(CSCI), the information published by the press does not replace official
statements by the IEC. In addition, the IEC seems to spend too much time in
holding consultations with the Offices of the President of the Republic, the
Prime Minister and political parties that are members of the Permanent
Consultative Framework (CPC) of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA). The
CEDEC of the CSCI recalls that the IEC, as an institution independent of the
Republic, owes explanations to only Ivorian people. It should publish an
electoral timetable and propose a date for the organization of the first round
of the presidential election. Consequently, the Rule of Law and Equal Chances
Commission (CEDEC) of the Ivorian Civil Society Convention (CSCI) asks the IEC
for: 1- the immediate publication of the timetable for the rest of the electoral
process; 2- the proposal of a new date for the presidential election which
should not go beyond 31 October 2010; 3- the accreditation of non-governmental
organizations involved in electoral observation.

Presidential election: Franck
Anderson Kouassi, chairman of the CNCA: "The policies of candidates will be
presented and discussed on television"

Fraternité Matin  –
The National
Council for Audiovisual Communication, on 22 July, in the presence of the Prime
Minister, will create a commission of television debates and special programmes.

Fraternité Matin:
Mr. Chairman, soon, a national commission for debates and special programmes
will be officially created. What are its mission, objectives and composition?

Franck Anderson Kouassi:
I would like to thank you and your leadership first, for the opportunity you
have given me to speak about one part of our activities, especially the national
commission for debates and special programmes that we are going to establish and
which will be presided over by the Prime Minister (Editor's note:Guillaume
Soro). It will take place on 22 July at the international conference room of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Plateau. The creation of the commission has a
simple objective: the organization of fair and transparent elections which will
be accepted by everyone. And this calls for some measures to be taken by all the
actors which will ensure this transparency and this notion of equity in
elections. We are responsible for the media regarding the regulation of the
sector. So with regard to the management of electoral information, we need some
tools which will allow us to inspire confidence in actors and guarantee, in this
regard, transparency regarding the management of the media. Under these
conditions, however, when state institutions manage these things by themselves,
there is suspicion. Because there is always the impression that the
administration is taking sides with the person who manages the executive. To
kill all these possible assumptions, we assigned one part of our prerogative to
an independent commission, though it is under the CNCA's supervision. It is
composed of representatives of political parties, presidential elections
candidates, civil society organizations and institutions which accompany Côte
d'Ivoire in the crisis-resolution process will act as observers, etc. With
regard to planning, programme planning and distribution of all the elements
related to the debates and programmes on elections, they will be in charge of
the conception, programme planning and the broadcasting. In this regard, our
partner is RTI. In an electoral period, as stated by the law, the CNCA claims a
part of the RTI's prerogative to programme and broadcast all the political
programmes related to elections.
This is the reason
for this measure. (...)

Professional organizations
demand that journalists be released

Fraternité Matin  –
The incarceration, on Friday of leaders of the daily newspaper Le Nouveau
Courrier, following the publication of a document on "the coffee-cocoa affair",
does not find favour with the media professional organizations. They expressed
it on Saturday in a statement at the Press House in Plateau. In fact, the Group
of editors of Côte d'Ivoire (GEPCI); the Observatory Commission for the Freedom
of the Press, ethics and Deontology (OLPED), the National Union of Journalists
of Côte d'Ivoire (UNJCI), the Organization of Professional Journalists of Côte
d'Ivoire, the National Association of Agents of private Press of Côte d'Ivoire
(SYNAPPCI) and the Union of Francophone Press (UPF) demanded "the unconditional
and immediate release of the journalists in custody". In this regard, the
journalists condemned, once again, "the Public Prosecutor's tendency to violate
the law every time and reminded him that protection of the journalist's sources
is part of freedom of the press and freedom of speech". They reiterated,
consequently, their infallible support to the colleagues in their refusal to
disclose their source. (...) Professional organizations asked the Public
Prosecutor, Prime Minister, Ministers of Justice and Communication, and all
religious leaders, the civil society to work for the liberation of journalists
arrested and for the reinforcement of the freedom of the press in Côte d'Ivoire.
Still in the framework of the resolution of this affair, a consultation is
taking place today at the Ministry of Communication with Minister Ibrahim Sy
Savané.

Zones CNO – Police officers
threaten boycott

Le Nouveau Réveil  –
The police officers in the Integrated Command Centre (ICC) in the Centre, North
and West (CNO) areas are very angry with their chief; especially the Director of
the National Police and the Minister of the Interior, Désiré Tagro.  Having been
working for four months in these areas CNO, they are waiting for their
changeover like their colleagues of the gendarmerie who are replaced every three
months by new elements in order to ensure the changing and allow mobility of the
troops. Unfortunately this is not the case in the police. The changeover that
was due to be done since 19 June has been a long time coming and the police
officers are losing patience. The spokesman for the police officers who
contacted us yesterday late in the afternoon, irritated and revolted, threatened
"if nothing is done, we are not going to take part in the parade for the 50^th
independence anniversary in Yamoussoukro. We are going to boycott the
anniversary", he said. And he added "starting from Monday, we will not get back
to our duty stations until further notice and the commissioners will not be able
to do anything".
(...)

Banny will not leave the PDCI
and he will be candidate

Fraternité Matin  –
The political office of the party has reaffirmed its support to the Chairman but
someone close to the former Prime Minister has not changed his mind. He reveals:
"It is clear, Charles Banny will not leave the PDCI whatever happens. On the
contrary, he will stay to snatch the original PDCI of President Félix
Houphouet-Boigny from those who want to kill it through anti-democratic
practices". This statement by a family member of the ex-Prime Minister in
Yamoussoukro, really confirms Charles Konan Banny's public will, disclosed on 9
July 2010 at the Yamoussoukro town hall, on the occasion of the constitutive
general assembly of the PDCI's representatives and professionals of the Centre.
For him, it consists of staying in the party, come hell or high water, to bring
contradiction, with a view to practical change. He relies on the exclusion
undergone few months ago by some members of the party, including N'dri
Apollinaire, N'zi Paul David, and Gnamien Vao. According to the source close to
the ex-Prime Minister, Charles Konan Banny will not leave the PDCI to please
those who want to eject him but he will also be candidate to the next
presidential election. But he did not give the party he will represent. (...)