DATE=7/22/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=IVORY COAST/REFERENDUM (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-264699
BYLINE=NANCY PALUS
DATELINE=ABIDJAN
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Ivory Coast's military government has put the
nation on heightened alert leading up to Sunday's
constitutional referendum. As Nancy Palus reports
from the commercial capital, Abidjan, military ruler
Robert Guei has warned of harsh sanctions for anyone
trying to disrupt the voting.
TEXT: The military government, which took power in a
coup last December, announced a four-day nationwide
state of emergency.
In a statement published in local newspapers Friday,
military ruler Robert Guei accused unnamed parties of
trying to orchestrate a boycott of the referendum.
A government communique said that anyone trying to
sabotage the polls would be exposed to what the
statement calls "radical sanctions." The communique
said the state of emergency allows authorities to use
special powers to maintain order.
Mr. Desire Dakoure, a presidential spokesman, says the
move is purely a preventive measure.
/// DAKOURE ACT - in French - establish
and fade under ///
Mr. Dakoure says the state of emergency was declared
purely to ensure the security of citizens during the
referendum. He says that given the current situation,
the government must be ready for anything, adding, if
the president were to sit by with his arms folded,
there would be cause for concern. He says that
instead, General Guei is taking the necessary
precautions.
Sunday's constitutional referendum comes at a tense
time in Ivory Coast, following a brief army mutiny
earlier this month. Shortly after the unrest, General
Guei accused unnamed politicians of manipulating
soldiers and trying to throw the transition off
course.
Despite the unrest, General Guei has vowed to stick to
the transition program, which calls for presidential
elections in September, with parliamentary and local
elections to follow soon after.
Many speculate that General Guei is preparing for a
presidential run.
/// REST OPT ///
The most controversial clause in the new constitution
Ivorians will vote on Sunday is one requiring that
presidential candidates be born of two Ivorian
parents. The clause is widely seen as targeting
opposition leader Alassane Ouattara, whose nationality
has been cast in doubt.
All the major political parties, including Ouattara's
Rally of the Republicans Party, have urged citizens to
vote "yes" on the draft constitution.
A few sectors, however, including Islamic leaders and
advocates for mixed race citizens, are pushing for a
"no" vote. They argue that the language concerning
parentage is exclusionary and fans ethnic divisiveness
in the country. (Signed)
NEB/NEP/WPM/ALW/JP
22-Jul-2000 13:19 PM LOC (22-Jul-2000 1719 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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