The UN Security Council on Friday welcomed the announcement of a time frame for long-postponed presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire, urging the parties concerned to meet the schedule without further delay.

In a presidential statement read out by the rotating council president of May, Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the council expressed the hope that the schedule's announcement would give new impetus to the fulfillment of the Ouagadougou Agreement and its supplements, which make up the blueprint for political reconciliation in the West African country.

A communique on May 18 of the Permanent Consultative Framework of the Ouagadougou Agreement provided a comprehensive electoral time frame, leading to the first round of the presidential election in Cote d'Ivoire on Nov. 29.

The 15 council members underlined the importance of meeting the objectives of each of the five stages leading to the elections, including the publication of a provisional voters' list and a final voters' list, the production and distribution of cards for identification and voting leading to, ultimately, the electoral campaign, said the statement.

To ensure that the schedule was met and that the resulting elections were free, fair, open, transparent and conducted in a secure environment, the council urged Ivorian political actors to meet their commitments in full and without further delay.

The council said it took note of the ceremony of transfer of authority held in Bouake on May 26 as a positive development and urged the Ivorian parties to continue to make progress.

The council also reiterated its determination to bring its full support to a credible electoral process in the country.

Cote d'Ivoire, the world's top cocoa grower, was split in two after Prime Minister Guillaume Soro's New Forces (FN) took control of the northern part of the West African country in a power-sharing agreement with President Laurent Gbagbo.

Peace accords signed in 2007 and 2008 set a timetable for the presidential election, which has repeatedly been postponed, and established a reunification process between the rebel-held north and a government-held south.

An 8,000-strong United Nations Operation in Cote d'Ivoire is currently deployed in the country to maintain peace and order.

Source:Xinhua