Cote d'Ivoire:
UNOCI for a peaceful electoral environment in Côte d'Ivoire

Le Patriote  –

The Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y. J. Choi, encouraged the Ivorian people
and their leaders to maintain a peaceful environment before, during and after
the presidential election on 31 October 2010. "Credible elections are the only
guarantee for return to normality in Côte d'Ivoire. UNOCI is confident that
Ivorians will make democracy and peace prevail. The winner will be the winner",
Mr. Choi said, speaking at a meeting with the journalists on Friday in Abidjan.
He therefore called on Ivorians to "vote calmly and with responsibility". He
also said he wanted the electoral environment which is obviously peaceful to be
maintained during the electoral process so that the election result is accepted
by everybody.

 

Presidential
election – The United Nations will support national observation of elections and
human rights

www.afreekelection.com –
The United
Nations agencies in Côte d'Ivoire on Thursday 21 October, said they agreed to
support the national civil society organizations in the framework of the
national observation of the electoral process, after a meeting at UNOCI's
headquarters in Abidjan. This multiparty meeting is the first of a series of
meeting decided by those national organizations with UNOCI and the United
Nations agencies with a view to periodically share information related to the
monitoring of human rights regarding the electoral process. "We are studying the
form of the support" said Mr. Moctar Lam, Governance Expert, in charge of
election finance at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). "In order
to ensure that human rights related to electoral process are respected, NGOs
must unite to work in synergy", said the deputy chief of UNOCI's Human Rights
Division, Mr. Guillaume Ngefa. (...)

 

End of regional
workshop on gender and justice supported by UNOCI

www.connectionivoirienne.net –
A workshop on gender and justice in west and central Africa, organized by the
United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) in partnership with the German
cooperation (GTZ) and the Ivorian Ministry of Justice and Human Rights ended on
Friday 22 October 2010 in Grand-Bassam. The activity which was held at the
Regional Training centre for the fight against drug (CRFLD) helped reinforce the
capacities of the heads of training programmes for the magistrates in the
institutions for judicial training and produce a module on judicial practice and
gender. The workshop was attended by senior magistrates from Ghana, Liberia,
Mali, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. At the closing ceremony, they
highlighted the main achievements of the workshop, including the right
understanding of gender and taking into account the judges' responsibilities
regarding protection of victims of gender-based violence. Another achievement
was sharing experiences between two legal systems, giving the participants the
opportunity to be inspired by other systems, especially in the framework of
judicial practices on gender-based violence.
(...)

 

 

Nicolas Sarkozy
attending Francophonie summit: "Elections must be held in Côte d'Ivoire like
everywhere else in the world"

Le Nouveau
Réveil  –
The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, on Saturday said that elections must be
held in Côte d'Ivoire "like as everywhere else in the world", at the opening
ceremony of the 13^th summit of Francophonie in Montreux
(Switzerland). (...)

 

Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf visits Abidjan

Fraternité Matin
 –
Liberia's President yesterday arrived at the Port Bouet airport
for a 24 hour-working and courtesy visit (...) According to credible sources, it
seems that the Liberian president has come to provide Ivorians with the support
of Liberian people in the period of electoral campaign and she said she wishes
that elections will be held in a peaceful climate. (...)

 

Presidential
election in Côte d'Ivoire: publication of results, Soro has decided.

Office of the
Prime Minister
– On Thursday, 21 October 2010, following an extraordinary session, the
Independent Electoral Commission decided to resort to manual counting for the
proclamation of the results of the presidential election on October 31, 2010.
Such a decision, taken only ten days before the presidential election, has
raised concerns in some Parties' headquarters. Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro
Kigbafori, to prevent any tension and achieve the best possible compromise
decided to work on the issue.

After numerous
consultations with the Special Representative of the Facilitator of the Ivorian
Direct Dialogue, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and the
Independent Electoral Commission, on Saturday, October 23, Prime Minister Soro
has strongly recommended the creation of a committee of independent experts
composed of technicians from the Offices of the Prime Minister, the Independent
Electoral Commission, the Facilitation and the computer company from Switzerland
called CRYPTO AG and observers from UNOCI. This committee of experts, in
collaboration with SILS Technology (a Computer company of Location and
Security), will secure the transmission of the results of presidential elections
and thus guarantee their inviolability. (...) Prime Minister Soro Guillaume
wants to reassure Ivorian people that the presidential election on October 31,
2010 will be fair and transparent.

 

Training
programmes for polling officers: press release from the IEC.

Fraternité Matin  –
The Independent
Electoral Commission (IEC) would like to inform the national community that the
training of polling officers (President and two Secretaries) will be held on
Wednesday 27 and Thursday, October 28, 2010 throughout the national territory.
It calls for this purpose, on people who have been selected for this position to
be available after the publication and the dissemination of this release and
remain attentive to the local election commissions for their appointment. (...)

 

Mabri prevented
from visiting students residence in Williamsville

Soir Info  -
Dr. Mabri Toikeuse,
candidate of the Union for Democracy and Peace in Cote d'Ivoire (UDPCI) for
presidential election was prevented on Saturday, 23 October 2010 from visiting
the campus in the city of Williamsville Adjamé by students. The candidate of
"hope" denounced this attitude Sunday during a meeting he hosted at Attécoubé.
"What is happening in the university is serious," he said. (...)

 

Creation of 299 new
municipalities – Bouaké, Daloa, Korhogo divided

Fraternité-Matin
 – The President of
the Republic Laurent Gbagbo has signed on August 25, 2010, as part of his policy
of decentralization, and in implementation of his government programme, five
decrees. Administrative map: 103 localities built in sub-prefecture.
Decentralization: the boundaries of regions and departments established by
decree. (...)

 

Presidential election: the
coming danger: 260 civilian commandos are training in Akakro

Le Nouveau Réveil  –
260.
That is the impressive number
of civilians who are following an intensive military training at the center of
Akakro few miles in the south of Bingerville. From reliable sources, these 260
people have been recruited from the civilian guard of the presidential candidate
Laurent Gbagbo. Their trainers, according to our source, are young officers from
the military training centre of Zambakro (Yamoussoukro). (...)