A total of 1.5 million people have been enrolled in the pre-election identification for the past two weeks in Abidjan, economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, according to an official statement.
"The Independent Electoral Commission states that by this day, 1.5 million people have been enrolled," organizers said in the statement on Monday.
The city has opened 774 centers since the operation began for the enrollment of 3 million nationals. Official statistics show that 12 million people need to be identified including 9 million to be put on the electoral list.
Voter identification and registration is the key to the holding of the country's long-delayed presidential election. Because of the failure to accomplish the process on schedule, Cote d'Ivoire decided last month to postpone again the Nov. 30 vote, triggering worldwide concern over the country's peace prospects.
The 8,000-strong United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire urged the country to accomplish the identification process by the end of January 2009, and the election by the end of next spring.
The identification operation goes parallel in Bouake, the stronghold of the former rebel New Forces (FN) which controls the northern part of the country.
The FN officially launched the electoral census last month with 275 centers opened in Bouake.
Since October 2005, the scheduled vote has repeatedly failed to take place amid differences over demilitarization, identification and other issues.
As a result, the country remains divided years after a civil war which erupted in September 2002.
President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro concluded a peace deal in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on March 4, 2007, under which Soro was named prime minister. In April, they agreed to hold the presidential election on Nov. 30.
Source:Xinhua
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