President Laurent Gbagbo of Cote d'Ivoire has once again reaffirmed that the country will hold presidential elections on Nov. 30 and called on voters across the country to prepare for the long-awaited vote, official sources have said.
"I am here to bring you the good news that the war is over, it is definitely behind us," said President Gbagbo, who was speaking Monday during a public rally in Seguela, central Cote d'Ivoire.
Seguela, which over two weeks ago witnessed a violent mutiny by demobilized fighters, is one of the country's towns that have been under the control of the former New Forces (FN) rebels for the last six years.
"The second news is that the elections will actually take place as scheduled on November 30... Get ready for the elections because these elections are real," the head of state was quoted as telling the over 3,000 people who attended the rally.
The localities Seguela and Vavoua had seen the course late June of a military mutiny by FN, who were protesting against the change of command and delay the payment of their premiums demobilization during which two people were killed.
After having been postponed endlessly since October 2005, the presidential elections, which have been described as the only way out of the Cote d'Ivoire crisis, are now scheduled to be held on November 30 in accordance with a series of agreements signed between the government and the rebels.
Cote d'Ivoire has been cut into two almost equal parts since the New Forces seized the northern part of the country following a failed coup in September 2002.
Despite doubts about the failure to hold the polls due to lack of funding, the Evaluation and Monitoring Committee (ECA), which is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the peace process, has reiterated that the deadline will be met, but also called for increased funding.
During the Monday rally, President Gbagbo also announced that the lists of voters for the November presidential polls will be somewhere "between eight and nine million people."
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, a former rebel leader, also announced the budget for meeting expenditure during the elections was "finished" and that the money would "really be found."
Cote d'Ivoire, which has plunged into a six-year political-military crisis, is in the midst of a peace process that has gathered momentum since President Gbagbo and Prime Minister Soro signed the Ouagadougou peace agreement in March 2007.
Source:Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article