UN Official Says Ivory Coast to Vote Sunday
VOA News
26 October 2010
A senior U.N. official has said he believes Ivory Coast's long-delayed presidential election will go ahead as planned this Sunday.
Choi Young-jin, the secretary-general's special representative to Ivory Coast, said that solutions have been found for the logistical and political challenges surrounding the poll.
Electoral officials are racing to distribute voter cards before the October 31 election.
The vote is intended to reunite Ivory Coast from the 2002 civil war that split the country between north and south.
The election has been delayed six times in the last five years, mainly because of disputes over who is eligible to vote.
Analysts say Sunday's vote will likely be a close contest between President Laurent Gbagbo and lead opposition candidates Alassane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bedie.
Mr. Gbagbo has remained in office for five years past the official end of his term in 2005.
U.N. peacekeepers and an Ivorian force composed equally of government troops and former rebel soldiers will be responsible for security during the voting.
Provisional first-round results are due to be announced November 3. A second round of voting -- if needed -- would be held on November 28.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
