Ivory Coast's electoral commission has said opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara has won the presidential run-off but the Constitutional Court has contested the announcement.

The BBC's John James in the main city Abidjan says there will now be a tug of war between the two bodies with the outcome unclear.

Supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo had tried to block the result, saying there had been fraud in the north.

Former rebels control this area.



It is also where Mr Ouattara is most popular.The election is intended to reunify the world's largest cocoa producer.The announcement of the result of Sunday's run-off has been much delayed, leading to heightened tension in the country.At least four people were killed on Wednesday night in an attack on an office of Mr Ouattara's party.

The Constitutional Court said the electoral commission's failure to announce the result by Wednesday's deadline meant it was taking over the declaration.



But at about the same time, electoral commission head Youssouf Bakayoko said Mr Ouattara had won 54% of the vote.



He was speaking under armed guard at a hotel, rather than from the commission headquarters.







Source: BBC

Security Council and Secretary-General welcome release of Ivorian poll results

 The United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the announcement by Côte d’Ivoire’s electoral authorities of the provisional results of Sunday’s presidential run-off, while urging calm amid reported violence in the West African nation.
According to press reports, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) today declared former Prime Minister Alassane Ouattara the winner of the elections in which he ran against incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo.

The announcement of the provisional results is “a crucial step for ensuring the validity and integrity of the electoral process and thereby an important element in the process of certification of the final results by the Special Representative,” Ambassador Susan Rice of the United States, which holds the Council’s presidency for December, said a statement read out to the press.

“The Secretary-General calls upon the Constitutional Council to expeditiously initiate the process of proclamation of the final results, respecting the will of the people of Côte d'Ivoire, so that his Special Representative can certify those results, in keeping with his mandate,” said a statement issued by the Secretary-General’s spokesperson.
The Council’s statement followed a closed-door meeting of the Council in which members were briefed on the latest developments via videolink by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire, Y. J. Choi. The 15-member body took note of Mr. Choi’s assessment that the run-off was conducted in a “democratic climate.”

The Council also reminded the leaders that they bear primary responsibility for ensuring a peaceful process and called on them to “exercise restraint, refrain from any interference in the work of the IEC, and honour their commitments to respect the results, address their complaints through the legal procedures and resolve their differences peacefully.

“They further urged the supporters of the candidates to refrain from any provocation or recourse to violence throughout the electoral process.”

Mr. Ban said stressed that all parties and leaders would bear the responsibility for any violent actions of their supporters.

He also reassured the people of Côte d'Ivoire that the UN operation in the country, known as UNOCI, “will undertake all possible actions, within its mandate, to help keep the electoral process on track, to preserve peace and security in the country and to support their efforts to successfully conclude the peace process.”

The Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, meanwhile encouraged authorities in Côte d’Ivoire to investigate “criminal incidents” that had occurred and take measures to prevent others from happening.

“All reported acts of violence will be closely scrutinized by the Office [of the Prosecutor],” Ms. Bensouda said in a statement.

She said that the Office of the Prosecutor has been monitoring the situation in the country before the presidential run-off and will continue to do so and urged supporters of both candidates and security forces to refrain from violence.

“I encourage the political leaders to call on their supporters and fellow citizens to show restraint and avoid unrest,” she said.

Yesterday Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned all sides not to interfere with the work of the IEC, and requested them to demonstrate responsibility and to refrain from any initiative until the announcement of the provisional results.

His call followed media reports that a supporter of Mr. Gbagbo had torn up the first announcements of partial results, and that journalists were barred from entering the IEC.


The West African country, the world’s largest cocoa exporter, was split by civil war in 2002 into a Government-controlled south and a rebel-held north, and UNOCI, with a current strength of over 9,000 uniformed personnel, has been supporting reunification efforts, of which Sunday’s vote was a principal step.

Source: UNIC - Accra

World leaders back Ouattara as Ivory Coast poll winner

World leaders have voiced their support for Ivory Coast opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara, saying he is the true winner of a presidential run-off.



The country's Constitutional Council has overturned results to declare President Laurent Gbagbo the winner - he is due to be sworn in shortly.



The US, UN, France and the West African bloc Ecowas have urged Mr Gbagbo to accept defeat.



The poll was intended to reunify the country after a civil war in 2002.



Prime Minister Guillaume Soro warned the overturning of the results threatened to derail attempts to stabilise and re-unify the country.



On Thursday, the independent Ivorian Election Commission declared that Mr Ouattara had won the 28 November run-off by 54.1% to 45.9%.



But after Mr Gbagbo and his supporters alleged the ballot had been fraudulent, the Constitutional Council overruled the Commission.



Chairman Paul Yao N'Dre said Mr Gbagbo had secured just over 51% of the vote.



Ivorian state media said Mr Gbagbo would be sworn in at a midday ceremony on Saturday.



'Held to account'



"Independent Electoral Commission, credible and accredited observers and the United Nations have all confirmed this result and attested to its credibility," he said.



He congratulated Mr Ouattara and said the international community would "hold those who act to thwart the democratic process and the will of the electorate accountable for their actions".



President Nicolas Sarkozy of France - the former colonial power in Ivory Coast - told Mr Gbagbo to "respect the will of the people, abstain from any action that might provoke violence" and to help establish peace.



UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon earlier called on Mr Gbagbo "to do his part for the good of the country and to cooperate in a smooth political transition".



The chairman of regional bloc Ecowas, Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, said all parties should "respect and fully implement the verdict of the Ivorian people as declared by the Independent Electoral Commission".

The head of the UN mission in Ivory Coast also said it regarded Mr Ouattara as the winner, while the African Union said it was "deeply concerned" by the developments.

Mr Ouattara told reporters on Thursday evening: "I am the elected president of the Republic of Ivory Coast."

"The Constitutional Council has abused its authority, the whole world knows it, and I am sorry for my country's image," he said.

Divided country

There have been dramatic scenes since Sunday over the declaration of the results.

On Tuesday, Mr Gbagbo's representative in the electoral commission tore up the first batch of results as the commission's spokesman was about to announce them.

The electoral commission head, Youssouf Bakayok, then went ahead with an announcement on Thursday, speaking under armed guard at a hotel rather than from the commission's headquarters, declaring Mr Ouattara the winner with 54% of ballots cast.

Not long afterwards, Mr N'Dre said that, as the announcement had come after Wednesday's legal deadline, those results were "null and void".

The presidential poll was intended to reunify the world's largest cocoa producer after a civil war in 2002.

The two candidates represent the two sides of the north-south divide that exists religiously, culturally and administratively, with the northern half still controlled in part by the former rebels.

In a statement, the country's Prime Minster Guillaume Soro said the voiding of votes "threatens the ideal of reunifying the country".

The BBC's John James in Abidjan, the country's main city, says the Constitutional Council's decision has come as a shock to many, especially the opposition.

Youths from the opposing camps took to the streets in Abidjan and other towns, throwing stones and burning tyres.

The military has closed the borders and international news sources are suspended. An overnight curfew is in place.

Both the army and UN peacekeepers have been patrolling the streets of Abidjan since Sunday.

At least four people have been killed in election-related clashes in Abidjan this week.

Source: BBC

US President Barack Obama has rejected the Council's decision.

World leaders back Ouattara as Ivory Coast poll winner

Ivory Coast election result deadline is missed

Tension is high in Ivory Coast after a deadline was missed to publish the results of Sunday's election run-off.

The head of the electoral commission, Youssouf Bakoyoko, said it was still working to reach a consensus on the results, which have been disputed.

Supporters of President Laurent Gbagbo, and those of the opposition leader, Alassane Ouattara, have accused each other of trying to rig the poll.

The election is supposed to reunify a country divided since a 2002 civil war.

Some 8,000 UN peacekeepers are on alert in case the dispute leads to renewed conflict in the world's largest cocoa producer, which used to be seen as a haven of peace and prosperity in West Africa.

On Tuesday night, the president's representative at the electoral commission publicly tore up the first batch of results amid calls for votes from the former rebel-held north to be annulled. The region is where Mr Ouattara is most popular.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Whoever wins wins, whoever loses, loses - that's democracy”

Hamadoun ToureUN spokesman

Damana Adia Pickass said there had been an "electoral hold-up".

Mr Ouattara's allies have meanwhile accused the president of trying to block the announcement of the result because he has lost.

The main international observer missions do not support Mr Gbagbo's claims of widespread fraud in the north.

"The second round of the election took place, I would say, in a generally democratic climate," the UN spokesman in Ivory Coast, Hamadoun Toure, told the BBC.

The former colonial power France, the UN, EU and US have urged the Ivorian authorities to announce the results of Sunday's run-off.

Deserted streets

The BBC's John James in the main city Abidjan says the electoral commission includes representatives from both sides and they cannot agree, meaning the results cannot be announced.

Continue reading the main story

Presidential Contenders

Laurent Gbagbo (left)

• Age: 65
• Southerner, Christian
• Former history teacher, now president
• Took 38% of the first-round vote

Alassane Ouattara (right)

• Age: 68
• Northerner, Muslim
• Economist and former prime minister
• Took 32% of the first-round vote

• Country profile: Ivory Coast

The long delay has led to mounting tension. Banks have been closed and the streets in the commercial district were almost entirely deserted on Wednesday, our reporter says.

A presidential decree has extended the 1900-0600 curfew until Saturday.

One reliable source told the BBC the officials of the electoral commission had agreed on results from 13 of Ivory Coast's 19 regions, but that the remaining regions were being contested.

The head of the UN's peacekeeping mission, Young-jin Choi, is continuing to shuttle between the various camps and election commission to try to get the results published.

Mr Toure said the UN was disappointed that promises to publish the results quickly in the second round had been broken.

"Whoever wins, wins, whoever loses, loses - that's democracy. They should only resort to democratic means to settle disputes," he told the BBC.

Mr Ouattara told reporters on Wednesday afternoon the uncertainty over the results was worrying.

"It is imperative that the president of the electoral commission proclaims the results," he said.

French concern

Earlier, French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie told French radio that "the results must be published today [Wednesday]".

She also said that French forces would be able to intervene if French nationals or interests were affected.

France retains close economic ties to its former colony but Mr Gbagbo's supporters have previously accused France of bias, and French targets in the country have been attacked.

Our reporter points out that the UN peacekeeping mission has copies of the results from all the polling centres and will be able to verify if what is published by the commission corresponds to 20,000 individual results.

The result is expected to be extremely close - testament to the fact these are the first open democratic elections the country has seen in 50 years since independence.

The two candidates represent the two sides of the north-south divide that exists religiously, culturally and administratively, with the northern half still controlled in part by New Forces soldiers who took part in the 2002 rebellion, our reporter says.

The New Forces have officially joined the government in a power-sharing deal.

The elections have been cancelled six times in the past five years.