United States Embassy (Abidjan)
19 March 2008
This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Ivorian newspapers today reported that the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) could envisage delaying the long-deferred presidential elections past June. President Laurent Gbagbo's state visit to South Africa is also a subject of front page stories in many dailies. A recent proposal from the RDR party to form an alliance with the New Forces and new developments in an alleged coup d'etat designed to topple the regime in Abidjan are the other major items in today's newspapers.
1. L'inter (a privately-owned daily): "After meeting with President Blaise Compaore, Mambe envisages deferring the elections," said a prominent headline on the front page of the paper. "If we cannot hold elections in June..., if conditions are not met at the appropriate time, we'll propose a new date to the government; and this date would be final once we agree on it," the paper quoted the Chairman of the CEI, Robert Beugre Mambe, as saying. Mambe was speaking yesterday in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso after holding talks with the Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore, who is also the facilitator in the Ivorian peace process. Talking about "the pre-conditions" for the presidential elections to take place in Cote d'Ivoire, Mambe said: "Conditions for SAGEM [a French group tasked to conduct the identification of the population] and the National Institute for Statistics to begin working together must to be met." Other pre-conditions, Mambe further explained, included thorny issues such as "preparing fresh voter rolls."
2. While the Ivorian electoral commissioner is considering the delay of the long-deferred polls, Le Temps accused the leader of the opposition RDR party of "maneuvering to hold back the elections." According to the paper (close to the ruling FPI party), cadres of Alassane Dramane Ouattara's party have been tasked to convince international institutions "to obtain the delay of the polls." The principal reason behind the move, alleged the paper, was to press for "a second round of audiences foraines (the nationwide program to provide identity documents to Ivorians) to be carried out."
3. In a related-development, Notre Voie (another pro-FPI daily) carried a prominent headline reading: "The RDR is searching for its three million voters." The paper went on to say that in a bid to gather its "fictitious" three million voters, the RDR is demanding the continuation of the audiences foraines. The paper also disclosed that barring the unexpected, the Ivorian Minister of Family Affairs would be meeting today with representatives of UNICEF to discuss issues on "How to normalize the situation of children whose age ranges from 3 to 18 and who do not have a birth certificate."
4. To close the debate on the audiences foraines, Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling FPI party) reported that the program "won't be extended." According to the paper, the announcement was made yesterday by Prime Minister Guillaume Soro during a meeting with the International Consultative Committee on the Ouagadougou Political Agreement. "Regarding the will of certain political players demanding the extension of the audiences foraines, the Prime Minister recalled that in conformity with the Ouagadougou Political Agreement, technical teams had 90 days to finish the program, and therefore he [Soro] cannot accede to this demand," reported the paper.
5. As President Gbagbo is set to meet today his South African counterpart, Thabo Mbeki, as part of his visit to that country, Soir Info (a privately-owned daily) critically looked at "the motive" behind the Ivorian leader's visit to South Africa. Officially, reported the paper, the talks between Gbagbo and Mbeki will focus on the peace process underway in Cote d'Ivoire. The paper recalled a recent decision by French President Nicolas Sarkozy "to re-negotiate a military accord" with its former colonies including Cote d'Ivoire. As the question regarding the presence of French troops in Cote d'Ivoire has always been a subject of "controversy", commented the paper, this "thorny issue" could be also high on the agenda during talks between Gbagbo and Mbeki.
6. "There won't be any alliance between Soro and the RDR," said a banner headline that ran across Nord-Sud Quotidien, (a daily close to the opposition.) According to the paper, Soro, in an interview granted to the French newspaper Jeune Afrique, said: "I'm the leader of the New Forces, Prime Minister and the referee of the electoral process. To demonstrate our neutrality, my movement will not support any candidate. However, individual members are free to do what they want."
7. Regarding the alleged coup d'etat designed to topple the regime in Abidjan, Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition) today reported that Jean Paul Ney, the French journalist who has been detained in Abidjan in connection with this affair, has started "a hunger strike to protest against his illegal detention."
Media Coverage of Embassy's Activities
Le Matin d'Abidjan (a daily close to the ruling FPI party): In today's edition, the paper carried a pre-event paper announcing a conference to be organized today by the US Embassy in Abidjan on the topic: "Women leaders at the heart of the American Revolution." The positive item explained that the conference is to celebrate World Women's Day and to encourage women from different social and political backgrounds to emulate their American counterparts.
In today's edition, the paper carried a pre-event paper announcing a conference to be organized today by the US Embassy in Abidjan on the topic: "Women leaders at the heart of the American Revolution." The positive item explained that the conference is to celebrate World Women's Day and to encourage women from different social and political backgrounds to emulate their American counterparts.
In yesterday's edition, Le Matin d'Abidjan positively reported on a DVC program that focused on how women can play a leadership role in politics. The conference was also part of activities organized by the US Embassy in Abidjan to mark World Women's Day.
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