Cote d'Ivoire's opposition parties, meeting under the Rally of Houphouitistes for Democracy and Peace (RHDP) coalition, have expressed their opposition to any idea of reshuffling the government, official sources said Saturday.
Through a press statement, the coalition, which brings together most of the major political parties in the West African country, said that it was completely opposed to any reshuffle that will negate the spirit of the Ouagadougou peace agreement.
The RHDP conference of presidents would like to "mark its formal and clear opposition to any idea of the dissolution of the government," said the opposition alliance in a joint statement.
Following an announcement to the effect that President Laurent Gbagbo was considering a cabinet reshuffle in the wake of open disagreements in the government, the coalition met to discuss the matter in the town of Daoukro, 250 km north Abidjan, on Friday.
The RHDP "is outraged by statements attributed to the head of state (Laurent Gbagbo) that, he would resort to institutional instruments to dissolve the government, only four months ahead of presidential elections."
The first round of the long-awaited polls, which have been postponed several times in the past, is now scheduled to be held on November 30, said the statement, noting that the elections would mark the final phase of the country's peace process.
According to the opposition alliance, "the current government was a result of political arrangements on the basis of the Ouagadougou peace accord (APO) and subsequent agreements and that it does not depend solely on the will of the head of state."
The coalition further notes that "the constitutional mandate of President Laurent Gbagbo has expired since October 25, 2005 and that his continuation as head of state was the results of a political arrangements."
On Tuesday, President Gbagbo threatened to dissolve the current government describing it as an "eclectic" and "ineffective" cabinet that could not be trusted to end the crisis that has been afflicting the country for the last six years.
The current government, which is made up of 33 cabinet ministers headed by Soro, secretary general of the former New Forces (FN) rebels, is the result of a comprehensive peace deal that was signed in Ouagadougou, capital of Burkina Faso, on March 4, 2007.
The agreement, whose purpose was to reunite the country that has been divided into two since a botched coup in September 2002, paved the way for the inclusion of representatives of the government, the former rebels and several opposition parties in the government.
Among other things, the implementation of the agreement is expected to get the country out of a six-year old political-military crisis that was triggered by a failed coup against President Gbagbo in September 2002.
Source:Xinhua
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