Abidjan, 15 July 2010... The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) is providing transportation for the new provisional electoral list received by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), which is being sent to 415 local electoral commissions the Mission's spokesman, Hamadoun Touré said on Thursday.

"Eight regions had already received the new list yesterday," said the spokesman, adding that UNOCI was continuing the operation by air today. He said that all the flights had already left Abidjan.

"Our participation in providing logistical support will end in a few hours and the distribution of the list will start according to the plan made by the IEC," Mr. Touré explained during the Mission's weekly press conference.

In addition, the spokesman said that due to the overlapping of several operations concerning the electoral list, UNOCI would like to recommend that a sensitization campaign be carried out in this regard. "This would give the population a clear idea of what is happening and would make a clear distinction between the two concepts, that is the new provisional electoral list and activities linked to the verification process on the list, which is being conducted by the Prime Minister's Office," he said.
Still on the issue of the electoral process, Mr. Touré said that UNOCI, which is observing the preparations for the verification process, had noted that recurrent difficulties had prevented the finalization of the operation. In this regard, he said that the Mission had taken note of the IEC's decision in its press statement dated 9 July 2010, which said: "The verification operation on the provisional electoral list (white list), co-ordinated by the Prime Minister's Office has no impact on the launch of the appeals process, which is being conducted by the IEC".
He reiterated UNOCI's encouragement to the parties to have a definitive electoral list which could serve as a compass to a credible electoral timetable.

Earlier, the spokesman announced that the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, was scheduled to meet Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, to discuss the latest developments in the peace process.

The meeting was part of the Special Representative's regular encounters with the main actors of the Ivorian peace process, Mr. Touré explained. "An important topic of the discussions will be the re-launch of the electoral process, which currently shows encouraging signs," he added.
Turning to the Mission's activities, the spokesman said that a series of its sensitisation and information sessions, known as UNOCI Tour, would be organised from 21 July to 4 August 2010, for members of civil society organisations in five towns in the Bas Sassandra region. The main objective of these sessions was to contribute to the holding of peaceful elections.
Another objective of the campaign was to inform Ivorians about the role UNOCI is playing in the crisis-resolution process in Côte d'Ivoire, through the activities of its different components and sensitise them on how they can contribute to creating a peaceful electoral environment in Côte d'Ivoire, the spokesman added. He also said that the sensitization session would provide the tools to the different pillars to become vectors of peace and promote messages of peace within their respective communities and organizations.
Mr. Touré also reminded journalists that a training programme for 16 officers from the police and mixed brigades was continuing in Bouaké. He said the police officers would be trained in the management of crime scenes, intervention techniques, collection of evidence and the issue of legal identification. Practical sessions on taking fingerprints and photographs would give participants the opportunity to understand the methods and techniques used on crime scenes. The training programme, which started in on Monday, 12 July, will end on Friday, 16 July. The United Nations Police regularly trains ICC elements, as well as supply them with technical support and equipment.