United States Embassy (Abidjan)
21 November 2007
This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
1. Reports in today's Ivoirian press say that President Laurent Gbagbo's state visit to the north of Cote d'Ivoire has been deferred. Newspapers also announce the arrival in Abidjan yesterday of the new special representative of the UN Secretary General South Korean Choi Young-jin. A row opposing the National Institute for Statistics and the Ivoirian opposition groups over the electoral roll to be used during the upcoming general elections in Cote d'Ivoire is also a subject of controversy in many dailies.
2. Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) carries a banner headline saying, "President Gbagbo's state visit to the north has been deferred to 28 November." The paper publishes a communique released yesterday by the Cabinet of Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, announcing the delay of the presidential maiden visit to the north. The state visit was originally slated for November 26-28.
3. Except of the statement says: "Prime Minister Guillaume Kigbafori Soro has the honor to announce to the people and the elected traditional leaders of the Savannah region that the proposed state visit of the president to the department of Korhogo will now definitely take place as from the 28-30 November 2007." "The prime minister as the Chairman of the National Organizing Committee is asking all the various members of the Commission as well as all the people to put everything together to ensure a hitch-free visit," says the communique.
4. Regarding the motives behind the delay, Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition RDR party) quotes sources close to the Cabinet of the Prime Minister as saying, "The premier, who is currently in Ouagadougou as part of the 4th meeting of the committee overseeing the implementation of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, has estimated that preparations for the presidential visit may not be completed before date. He [Soro] has therefore decided a two-day delay of the visit to enable him to have prior consultations with people on the ground."
5. In a related development, Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily) tells readers that the visit of Gbagbo to the north constitutes a strong signal, as the country is engaged in a peace process. Against this background, comments the paper, there is no reason to do things "hastily". Aware of the situation on the ground, continues the paper, the Prime Minister and his government have sent a fact-finding mission to the region in order to assess the situation on the ground. In addition to the bad state of government infrastructures in the region -- especially roads that need to be patched up --, explains the paper, the security issue has to be well tackled, because the president's visit to the north could pave the way for the full deployment of security and defense forces in the region.
6. Another banner headline in Fraternite Matin says, "The Director of the National Institute for Statistics rejected accusations of fiddling about with the electoral roll." According to the paper, the Director of National Institute for Statistics, Meleu Mathieu, was reacting yesterday to accusations leveled against the institution by certain political parties.
7. According to Fraternite Matin, the National Institute for Statistics was accused of "manipulating the electoral roll that was used during the 2000 general elections." The grievances, reports the paper, concern "the cancellation of certain constituencies and omission of a number of polling stations." But Fraternite Matin quotes Meleu Mathieu as saying, "The electoral roll that was transmitted to the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) suffered no manipulation. Neither polling stations nor voters have been cancelled."
6. Meanwhile, Anaky Kobena leader of Mouvement des Forces d'Avenir (MFA), an opposition party called for "the reestablishment of a new voters' register upon completion of the identification program," reports Fraternite Matin. Kobena, reports the paper, was speaking yesterday at his party's headquarters in Abidjan. The Ivoirian opposition leader also accused the ruling FPI party of President Gbagbo of trying "to control the elections by preventing supporters of the RHDP - an opposition alliance which his party belongs to - from voting during the coming polls." He also called upon leaders of the opposition to field a single candidate during the forthcoming presidential election.
7. "The United Nations Operation will stay in Cote d'Ivoire until peace returns to the country," 24 Heures (a daily close to the opposition) quotes the new special representative of the UN Secretary General South Korean Choi Young-jin as saying. According to the paper, the UN boss was speaking yesterday upon arrival in Abidjan to assume duty.
8. In a separate development, Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition) reports that the first group of Ivorian Muslims left Abidjan yesterday for Mecca to perform their 2007 pilgrimage.
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