I Coast: Opposition joins new government

  1. Posted on Sunday 28 February 2010 - 06:03
    guyson
    Image of guyson
    After the Re-establishment of electoral commission as it was the wish of the opposition. Finally the Ivory Coast's opposition says it will join the new government and call off violent protests that have rocked the nation since President Laurent Gbagbo dissolved the electoral commission this month, an opposition spokesman said.
    Ivory Coast
    Gbagbo disbanded the government and electoral commission on February 12 after accusing former commission Chief Robert Mambe, also a PDCI member, of illegally adding names to the voter list to boost the opposition. Mambe has since denied the charge.

    That decision delayed elections that were already years overdue from March, provoking a public outcry that led to the violent street protests.

    The world's top producer of cocoa announced the formation of a new electoral commission after naming a replacement government. These are key steps towards holding long-delayed elections and ending the demonstrations in which at least seven people have died.

    In the statement, spokesman for the opposition groups Alphonse Djedje Mady said.,"We are satisfied with this first stage of the reinstallation of the independent electoral commission, which will now go back to work,"

    "The RHDP and PIT (parties) have therefore decided to make their entry into the government," he told a news conference. "There remain some small questions to sort out but ... the principle of our entering the government is (agreed)."

    The main opposition coalition had also vowed to continue protests against Gbagbo until he reinstated the commission and the government. They were now called off, Mady said.

    "RHDP and PIT call on their sympathizers and activists to stay mobilised but to end all demonstrations. We have to stay vigilant, but protests have to be suspended," he said.

    However, the new electoral commission said earlier on Friday that its president would be Youssouf Bakayoko, an opposition PDCI party member. Commission members were chosen in a deal struck by Ivory Coast's political parties, and the commission then elected Bakayoko to lead it.

    The new electoral commission president in his brief statement after his election in the early hours of Friday promised transparent results acceptable to everyone.

    Elections are expected to hold in May 8 /2010 if the electoral commission gets to work immediately.

Latest News

  1. OPINION: Welcome to African Green Revolution24/05For the past century and a half, Africa has tried various agricultural approaches without much success.
  2. Egyptians vote in historic election23/05Egyptians began voting freely on Wednesday for the first time to pick their president in a wide open election that pits Islamists against men who serv…
  3. Africa Day 2012 - a moment for reflection and…22/0525th May is Africa Day. For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) …
  4. South Africa's African agenda21/05The Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, Kgalema Mothlanthe paid a rare visit to Ghana in April at the invitation of John Dramani Mahama …
  5. Women struggle to rinse hunger, poverty stains21/05Just looking at her one clearly appreciates that she is old and frail therefore in need of support for food, clothing and shelter to live comfortably …
  6. Climate Climate change affects migratory birds…21/05Changes in the climate globally have affected the movement of both migratory and resident species of birds, Nature Uganda has said.
  7. Ghana: Foreign retailers cited for currency…18/05The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is attributing the sharp depreciation of the Ghana cedi against major currencies to the illegal activiti…
  8. Kenya: Community radio brings succour to…18/05Korogocho, a slum in northeastern Nairobi with 100,000 inhabitants, had many of the ingredients for a political explosion similar to those that rocked…
  9. Veld fires 'flame' Zimbabwe's…16/05Over the years, Zimbabwe has experienced the scourge of veld fires destroying property worth thousands of dollars.
  10. Liberia commends ECOWAS for support14/05The induction training of pioneer Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Volunteers for Liberia kicked off in Monrovia, with the Deputy Mi…
  11. Vanishing Lake Chad puts 30m lives at risk14/05As you approach the Lake Chad basin from Maiduguri, in north-eastern Nigeria, the evidence of despair is telling.
  12. Heavy rains cause havoc in Kenya14/05Heavy Rainfall continued to wreak havoc across the country leading to the suspension of relief food in some parts of the country as most roads in Turk…
  13. Zimbabwe: Growth points lie dormant14/05The Zimbabwean government mooted the concept of growth points in the 1980s as a means of decongesting cities and towns.
  14. Sierra Leone improves in infant mortality11/05Sierra Leone has improved in infant mortality cases according to Save the Children- World Motherhood index 2012 report. The West Africa country descri…
  15. Zimbabwe: Resettled farmers fail to utilize…10/05Resettled farmers in Zimbabwe are failing to utilize land due to inadequate farming inputs and lack of resources.
News archive