The United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) notes the decision of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), to re-enroll individuals whose data were illegible when processing the provisional electoral list.

At the weekly press briefing of the mission, the Spokesperson of UNOCI, Hamadoun Touré, said the processing of appeals from the voters list was ongoing. According to our colleagues on the ground, he said, more than 350,000 requests have been filed so far in the various local electoral commissions. That brings, said the spokesman, the rate of the treated cases on the gray list to 34%. "A major effort has been made by local boards to clear the request of applicants. We are pleased with this situation, "he said

While the deadline for the completion of appeals treatment was set for Dec. 26 by the IEC, M. Touré noted that there had a lot to be done to treat the remaining cases of the gray list. To a question on the extension of the operation, he said that this decision did not amount to UNOCI. He added that in this respect, the UN mission had confidence in the wisdom of the IEC. For its part, "UNOCI calls on people to go massively to the centers of litigation to be able to quickly complete the usual formalities and take possession of their papers after the confection of the final voters list." he said.

Moreover, the spokesperson said, if UNOCI continued his support and assistance to local boards and applicants by providing the necessary printed documents, it regretted however that "in some areas located in the Center North and West (CNW) as in the southern zone, the level of litigation received remains low. Given this situation, the UN Mission encourages all bodies concerned to educate and inform citizens so that they could use all opportunities given in the framework of the appeals.

Previously, Mr. Touré announced that thanks to the encouraging state of the Ivorian peace process including the electoral process, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations for Côte d'Ivoire, YJ Choi, had taken a few days rest in his country. "This is the first time, in two years of presence he will celebrate Christmas and New Year with his family. The progress accomplished shows that the current momentum is strong despite the huge challenges ahead ", said the spokesperson.

In conclusion to this last weekly press briefing of the year, Mr. Touré has expressed good wishes to the Ivorian press and praised their cooperation for their work to the benefit of people and to the success of the peace process. ».