Abidjan, 30 September 2010... The first group of 300 peacekeepers being deployed in the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire to help provide security during the presidential election are expected in the next 15 days, the Mission's spokesman, Hamadoun Touré announced on Thursday.

Speaking at the Mission's weekly press conference, he said that the troops will help reinforce UNOCI's military and logistical capacity. He recalled that the decision to deploy 500 additional peacekeepers stemmed from the report by the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Côte d'Ivoire, Y. J. Choi to the Security Council.

Mr. Choi informed the Security Council of the progress made and the remaining tasks before the holding of the presidential election on 31 October 2010, the spokesperson explained. In this regard, he added, UNOCI's Chief once again outlined the importance of the production of the final voters list which, in addition, will enable millions of voters to receive their identity cards.

In Dakar, the Principal Deputy Special Representative, Abou Moussa, who was attending the 19th meeting of the heads of peacekeeping missions in West Africa highlighted Ivorians' desire to hold the presidential election.

Mr. Choi and Mr. Moussa both insisted on the volume of logistical work to be done in such a short time, Mr. Touré highlighted. He announced UNOCI's organization of the national distribution of the electoral material in three cycles from 1st October 2010.

The first distribution cycle called CD1, involves the transportation of the non- sensitive material (ballot boxes, polling booths, electoral kits) from Abidjan and Yamoussoukro to the districts, explained Mr. Touré.

The second cycle or CD2, he said, involves sensitive material like the voters and identity cards and the final voters list which will be transported from Abidjan to the 415 local electoral commissions (sub prefectures and municipalities).

Finally, according to the Spokesman, the third cycle or CD3 will cover the transportation of other types of sensitive material like ballot papers, indelible ink, and electoral documents.

"The distribution cycles are scheduled from 1st to 16 October 2010", Mr. Touré said, adding that UNOCI will support the other multilateral partners in the execution of the programmes they have been entrusted with by the national institutions. UNOCI will closely follow the identification of the electoral agents and their capacity-building programme, he assured.

With regard to the media, the spokesperson announced the holding of an exchange and information meeting organized by UNOCI in partnership with the Ministry of Communication and the National Council of Audiovisual Communication (CNCA) on "the role of non-commercial private radio stations in electoral periods", for their owners on Wednesday, 6 October 2010, in Yamoussoukro. "The objective is to help the owners of non-commercial private radio stations reinforce the contribution of their media to the establishment and preservation of a peaceful electoral environment," Mr. Touré recalled.

The meeting, to be presided over by the Minister of Communication, Ibrahim Sy Savané, will be attended by UNOCI's deputy chief, Abou Moussa, and some 120 participants, he said.

Mr. Touré also announced that UNOCI Days would be organised in Samatiguila from 5 to 7 October with the objective of calling on the population to become involved in an awareness campaign for the promotion of a peaceful electoral environment. In addition to sports and cultural activities, a forum and medical and legal consultations planned for these days, UNOCI's school caravan will be re-launched in Samatiguila, he said. It will consist of providing school children with the tools for the promotion of social cohesion and non-violence at school. The initiative's objective is to facilitate schools' contribution to a peaceful electoral environment.

As part of the Mission's activities, the spokesman mentioned the holding of an exchange and information workshop with opinion leaders in Akoupé district on 1st October, and on 6 October with the traditional chiefs, women and youth associations in Brobo to ask for their involvement in the promotion of a peaceful electoral environment.

For Mr. Touré, both activities are part of the follow-up of the recommendations adopted in the respective localities.