UNOCI trains political actors
and civil society in Agnibilékrou on human rights and peaceful electoral
environment

Le Patriote -
The United Nations
Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), in partnership with the Local Committee for
the Monitoring of Actions for Peace (LCMAP), on Tuesday, 4 May 2010 organized a
training workshop on "Human Rights and Elections" for the political actors and
civil society in Agnibilékrou, 266 km northeast of Abidjan. Outlining the
objectives of the training, Yétamasso Apolle, of the Human Rights Division, said
that "the meeting was aimed at strengthening participants' capacity regarding
Human Rights and encouraging them to work toward the smooth holding of elections
(...)".

Electoral process: Back from
Togo and Benin, the President of the Republic, Laurent Gbagbo gave his position
on the crisis-resolution process, finalized some issues and gave the reasons for
his trip. "We are going to clean up the list which is infested with fraudsters'
names"

Fraternité Matin  -
Laurent Gbagbo, the President of the Republic, returned to Abidjan yesterday
evening, after having participated in the nomination of the Togolese President,
Faure Gnassingbé on Monday and gone to Benin at the invitation of the Béninois
President, Yayi Boni. Off the plane, the Head of State responded to journalists'
questions and provided clarification on the electoral process. "I repeat that
elections will be held this year. I repeat it; we are going to clean out the
list which is infested with fraudsters' names", he said. "I repeat that some
people think I want to use the fiftieth anniversary to campaign for myself. I do
not need the fiftieth anniversary to campaign. I was not celebrating the
fiftieth anniversary when I was elected in 2000", he said. And he added: "If on
7 August elections have not been held (I hope we will have held them before), we
are going to organize a small parade like every 7 August. And then, we are going
to postpone the big celebration, the big parade for after the elections".
President Gbagbo explained that he wants the big celebration of the fiftieth
anniversary of Côte d'Ivoire's independence to be presided over by "a
president-elect".

Scheduled for 6 May 2010, the
Police calls off the sit-in of the Coalition for Change (CPC). Money Julien,
member of the Coalition for Change: "This is what we are expecting from Choi"

L'Inter-
Planned for Thursday, 6 May 2010, a sit-in by the Coalition for Change (CPC) has
been cancelled by the Police. The information was given on television news by
the CPC's chairman, Touré Mamadou. He said that the reason for the cancellation
was due to rumours of destabilization of public institutions which have been
spread by the presidential camp. (...) but earlier, a member of the CPC's
executive board, Money Julien disclosed the intentions of the sit-in. According
to him the regrouping of young people before UNOCI's headquarters is aimed at
raising the awareness of the United Nations on the difficulties facing the
Ivorian crisis-resolution process. (...) According to Money Julien, "UNOCI which
can impose sanctions and threatened several times to take action is watching the
torpedoing of the peace process. We are demonstrating to tell its representative
that if the United Nations cannot do anything for us, it has to leave", he
explained. "Now we are surprised to see that the Head of UNOCI, Y. J. Choi who
is in charge of certifying all the phases of the electoral process remains
silent with regard to the latest statement by the Head of State. Has he come to
do business or to help us? If he has come to work, he has to prevent the
electoral process from being blocked", said Money Julien. Instead of the CPC's
sit-in, the Coalition will meet today the Special Representative of the UN SG,
Y.J. Choi.

Electoral process: the
resumption of the appeals divides parties

Inter  -
Suspended three months ago, the electoral appeals will resume in a few days,
according to the joint decision of the Prime Minister Guillaume Soro and the
President of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Youssouf Bakayoko. The
first phase will start on Monday, 10 May 2010 the gray list''. (...) "This
important decision was reached after several sessions of work and was made in
accord with President Laurent Gbagbo, and after consulting political leaders and
partners in the peace process" the joint statement of the prime minister and the
president of the IEC indicated on May 2. It, however, appeared that political
parties had divergence on the resumption of the judicial appeals. The President
of the Ivorian Workers Party (PIT) accused Gbagbo and Soro to provide a new
procedure. (...) The Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP)
regretted that the two camps ignored them during the negotiations that led to
the resumption of the appeals. "The remaining appeals must been open at both the
administrative and judicial level and It must lasted 21 days," Professor
Alphonse Djedje Mady, chief executive of the RHDP said. (...) The FPI, the party
of the head of state that had demanded an audit of the electoral list, seemed to
be satisfied by the judicial appeal which will resume on Monday.(...). "

Appeals on electoral list -
Conflict between SAGEM and its agents

L'Inter  -
Sagem
sécurité and some of its agents no longer look in the same direction. The reason
for this is because these agents, recruited by a private company, insist on new
condition before renewing their contracts which ended on 30 April 2010. They
have sent a declaration to the Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale (Cnps),
insisting that their salaries should include sickness insurance and risk
allowances when they travel.  Yesterday, 4 May 2010, at Saint Paul's Cathedral
in Plateau where we met 70 of them, they explained what they would like from
their employer. According to them, after the expiration of their contract on 30
April 2010, the recruitment agency contacted them to offer them a contract.
Seizing the opportunity to demand some concessions from their employer, they
decided to negotiate a new contract which took into account their wishes.
Unfortunately, according to them, the new employer, who wanted to extend their
contracts with the same conditions, refused to agree to their demands.  (...)

The march by RHDP Youth -
Tagro promised to report to Gbagbo and Soro

Notre Voie
- On Monday, May 3, 2010, the
Minister of the Interior, in accordance with the conclusions of the meeting of
April 28, 2010, met with Karamoko Yayoro, the President of the RJR, KOUADIO K.
Bertin, the President of the JPDCI, DIOMANDE Christmas Mamadou, President of
JMFA, and Kouadio Yao Seraphin, the President JUDPCI, all member of the RJDP.
The meeting was attended by a Representative of the United Nations Operation in
Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and the Special Representative of the Facilitator of the
Dialogue Direct, Mr. Badini BOUREIMA. (...) Both parties, at the meeting,
discussed about the request of the Minister of Interior to postpone the march of
May 15, 2010. The young Houphouetists said to the Minister Tagro that, after
consulting the leaders of their respective political parties, they had decided
to maintain the march on May 15, 2010. They said, they had taken into account,
in their deliberations, the Annual Meeting of the African Development Bank (ADB)
since the march will be held on May 15, 2010, twelve (12) days before the
scheduled date of the annual assemblies.(...) The Minister of Interior stated
that though the 2010 Annual Meeting of the ADB is scheduled on May 27, 2010, the
precursors, whose role is to ensure that the environment was peaceful and
conducive to the holding of an international conference of this kind. (...)