Japanese culture
at the side of Côte d'Ivoire – What Choi said

Soir Info  –

This is a gesture from a friendly country but especially, it is
proof that culture is very often a significant support to politics. A
politico-cultural event, the music festival organized by the Japanese embassy,
in collaboration with the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI)
promoted mixed culture and showed similarities between both countries'
traditional art. The "Concert for peace and future", the peak of the programme,
took place on Saturday 6 November 2010, at the Superior National Institute of
Arts and cultural Action (INSAAC). It was hosted by the Japanese group, Minyo,
and the Ivorian group Yakomin. The event was attended by a large audience and
the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte
d'Ivoire, the Korean, Y.J. Choi, and Okamura Yoshifumi, the Japanese Ambassador
to Côte d'Ivoire. [...]. The politico-cultural event was welcomed by Y.J. Choi,
who congratulated the Japanese embassy which takes an active part in the
resolution of the Ivorian crisis. "Japan, from the beginning has been beside
Côte d'Ivoire. For the organization of the presidential election, it donated
ballot boxes, temporary shelters, financed the training programme for electoral
officers and pre-electoral sensitization," said the Korean diplomat. (...)

 

First round of
presidential election / UNOCI's weaknesses – Abou Moussa suspected

L'Expression  –
UNOCI's logistical arrangements suffered a setback during the first round of the
presidential election. The collection, transportation and security arrangements
set up by the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Abou
Moussa, displayed shortcomings in several localities on Election Day. The Deputy
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General stands accused. In the
municipalities of Abobo and Adjamé: at the close of the offices, the electoral
officers had to wait for several hours in several centres for the arrival of
UNOCI's convoys. They used dexterity and their muscles to counter the desire of
some elements of the security forces who wanted to take over the ballot boxes.
And faced with the population's determination, they ran away. What would have
happened with the ballot boxes if they were taken away by the security elements?
In many other localities, especially in Saioua which is the Minister of the
Security, Desire Tagro's native region, electoral officers ran away after
threats from the population who were astonished by the high performance of their
opponents in their fiefdom.

Several reports disappeared in the flight.
Finally,
everybody is accusing UNOCI which had promised that it will take charge of
collecting, transporting and providing security for the ballot boxes. According
to credible sources, the Deputy Special Representative did not fully play his
role. And according to some sources, he is very close to the presidential camp,
whose chief very often invites him to share meals. Is that the reason? Anyway
UNOCI, in its mission did not function in some places. These shortcomings should
be corrected during the second round.

 

Statement by the
Constitutional Council: The operations of the election held on 31 October were
lawful

Fraternité Matin
 –
(...) Given the results of the presidential election held on 31
October 2010 which was subject to a provisional announcement by the Independent
Electoral Commission and received by the Secretariat General of the
Constitutional Council on 4 November 2010; (...) Considering that after the
general registration of the votes of the election held on 31 October 2010, the
Independent Electoral Commission made a provisional announcement of the
following results:

Voters
registered: 5,784,490

Voters:
4,843,445

Participation
rate: 83.73%

Invalid
suffrages: 225,624

Valid suffrages:
4,617,821

(...) Considering
that Article 60 of the Electoral Code, modified by decree 2008-133 on 14 April
2008 containing adjustments for Electoral Code, states that every candidate in
the Presidential Election can present a written appeal concerning the regularity
of the election or its calculation to the Chairman of the Constitutional
Council; Considering however that no written appeal over the regularity of the
calculation of the vote was presented to the Constitutional Council's Chairman;
Considering that the examination of the reports does not reveal any irregularity
which can smear the sincerity of the election and affect the total result; (...)
that after examining the results of the election held on 31 October 2010, the
two candidates who obtained the highest suffrages are: -Mr. Gbagbo Laurent:
1,756,504 or 38.04%; -Mr. Ouattara Alassane: 1,481,091, or 32.07%. Considering
that at the end of article 36, paragraph 2 of the Constitution, the second round
should be held fifteen days after the announcement of the final results;

Decides: 1^st
article: the operations of the presidential election held on 31 October are
lawful;

Article 2: the
second round of the election will be organized on Sunday 21 November 2010;

Article 3: the
candidates who are qualified for the second round of the election are: - Mr.
Gbagbo Laurent; -Mr. Ouattara Alassane. (...)

 

2^nd
round: 21 or 28 November: Yao N'Dré – IEC: date war?

Nord Sud  – (...)
The institution led by Youssouf Bakayoko will have to work hard to organize the
2^nd round of the election scheduled on 21 November by Yao Ndré,
Chairman of the Constitutional Council. The IEC is holding an urgent meeting
today. And it seems that the institution in charge of the organization of the
electoral process should maintain the date of 28 November which was announced in
its timetable. (...) According to some sources close to the IEC, there is no need
to rush in the organization of the second round of the presidential election.
According to the texts on the organization of elections, the IEC is in charge of
deciding the date of elections", says the IEC's deputy Chairman, convinced that
Paul Yao N'Dré whose role is to interpret the laws, is not responsible for
deciding the date of elections. (...)

 

After the
validation of the election results / the lawyers of the PDCI: "Yao N'dré did not
tell Ivorians the truth"

L'Expression  –

A tit for tat response! Yesterday, the legal counsel of
the PDCI contradicted the President of the Constitutional Council who said that
no candidate had formally complained about the results of the presidential
election on October 31, at the party headquarters. According to one of the
PDCI's lawyers, Blessy Chrysostome, who held the press conference, the PDCI had
indeed filed a motion and has given it to the institution headed by Paul Yao
N'dré on Saturday, 6 November  at 19 h20. "On Saturday, November 6, 2010,
Richmond N'da, the bailiff went to the headquarters of the Constitutional
Council to present the request of Henri Konan Bédié," he said. The envoy was
ordered to wait; he stayed in the office of the institution during the whole
evening without anyone to talk to. The Vice-Chairman of the legal counsel of the
PDCI revealed that their candidate was obliged to call a judge on the election
to settle with him the situation. After the phone call from President Bédié, the
President of the Constitutional Council met with the bailiff who gave him the
request according to Blessy Chrysostome. "Paul Yao N'dré did not tell the truth
to the Ivorians on Saturday during the validation of the results of the first
round of the presidential election on TV" he said.

 

Second round of
Presidential election: Everyone for Ouattara

Le Patriote  –
It was
one of the most solemn
moments. The massive presence of the officials of the PDCI, RDR, UDPCI and MFA,
yesterday at the residence of President Henri Konan Bedie, explained the events
of the day. President Bedie and his younger brother Albert Mabri Toikeusse and
Innocent Anaky Kobena came together to present Alassane Ouattara as the
torchbearer of the Rally of the Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP),
for the second round of the presidential elections on Sunday, November 21. As
chairman of the Conference of the Presidents of RHDP, President Henri Konan
Bédié gave that good news. "The Conference of Presidents of the RHDP extends its
warm congratulations to its candidate in the second round, President Alassane
Ouattara. (...) presidents Bédié of the PDCI, Mabri of UDPCI and Anaky of MFA
support the candidate Alassane Ouattara. (...) They call upon their members,
supporters and all voters to rally around this candidate. They strongly urge
them to vote massively candidate Alassane Ouattara, to ensure a resounding
victory of the RHDP, to safeguard the legacy of President Felix
Houphouet-Boigny," President Bédié loudly announced under a thunderous applause
of the collaborators of the four leaders, visibly moved. (...)

 

Here is how
Gbagbo stole Bédié's votes.

L'Expression  -

The PDCI refused to mourn his demand for a recount of the votes.
Yesterday his lawyers told reporters how the incumbent president, Laurent
Gbagbo, had stolen the votes of their torchbearer. A simple game of addition and
subtraction was enough, he said, to make the "Christ Mama" happy. "The candidate
Bédié noted that people were added in groups in general throughout of the
territory. Sometimes in few numbers, other times in a very larger numbers (...)
the total of those added was about 366,711 people" Blessy Chrysostom said. He
gave three examples that enabled him to talk about "electoral hold-up" that
badly affected the overall result published by the Independent Electoral
Commission. "The voter population at the Nelson Mandela in Abidjan rose from 392
to 442 people, those of Epp Dikodougou in Korhogo from 240 to 247, and those of
EPP Yakassé2 in Grand Bassam from 65 to 70 people", he said. Worse some soldiers
of the security and defense forces voted twice because the Independent Electoral
Commission did not have their accurate lists. In addition, the final voters list
has experienced an increase of 45,228 people and these changes were not notified
to the Ivorians.

 

Presidential Election – Rumours of clashes between people.  The
Interior Ministry denies it.

www. Afreekelection.com –

According to Abdoulaye Traoré, spokesman of the Ministry of
Interior,
rumours of
clashes between different groups following the announcement of the results of
the first round of presidential elections, "are unfounded and are intended to
poison the population for electoral purposes". This conclusion follows outreach
missions on the ground, particularly in the departments of Bouaflé, Guiglo,
Guitry, Issia, Lakota, Oumé, San Pedro, Sassandra, Sinfra, Taboo, Toulepleu,
Daloa, Divo, Duékoué, Fresco, Gagnoa and Zoukougbeu.  According to the daily
reports by the administrative authorities, no other incidents had been recorded
with the exception of a brawl that occurred between two groups of young people
in the town of Zépréguhé in Daloa. The spokesman for the Interior Minister
assured the Ivorian population that the State of Côte d'Ivoire had taken all
necessary steps to prevent any conflict before, during and after elections.

 

After Gbagbo's victory in
Anyama, his supporters are threatened

Notre Voie  -
(...) In Anyama, the
architects of the victory of the candidate of the LMP have been threatened with
death by the people of Alassane Ouattara. Since the announcement of the results
of this constituency, three young leaders of the movement of the candidate
Laurent Gbagbo'supporters seek refuge in a village of the department to escape
death. Their crime was to belong to the Malinké community and have helped the
"boussoumani" Gbagbo to triumph in the city of cola. (...)