allAfrica.com: Côte d'Ivoire: American Embassy's National Daily Press Review (Page 1 of 1)

This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

Reactions after the Ivorian government set the upcoming presidential election for November 30, 2008 continued to dominate commentaries in today's newspapers. Dailies also reported on government's plan to speed up the electoral process in a bid to meet the deadline. Other newspapers talked about President Laurent Gbagbo's visit this week to the United States to attend the UN Security Council meeting in New York.

1. In the wake of Cote d'Ivoire government's decision to hold the upcoming presidential elections on November 30 this year, Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily) prominently reported that France welcomed the move. According to the paper, a French Foreign Affairs official described the decision as "an important step." "We support Cote d'Ivoire's effort aimed at the full implementation of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement and we encourage all the Ivorian parties to consolidate the current momentum," the French official as saying.

2. On the same subject, Fraternite Matin reported that United Nations peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI) Tuesday "welcomed" the announcement that Cote d'Ivoire's presidential elections will now be held on 30 November this year. According to the paper, the Spokesperson of the mission, Hamadoun Toure, called it "a historic decision," because since the deployment of UNOCI, four years ago "this is the first time that the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) has proposed a date that has been endorsed by the government." Toure, who was speaking yesterday in Abidjan also "reaffirmed UNOCI's commitment to support the organization of the presidential and other elections," reported the paper.

3. Further on the elections, Fraternite Matin quoted the Spokesperson of the Ivorian Prime Minister Guillaume Soro saying "The government of Cote d'Ivoire is to sign an agreement Thursday [April 17], with SAGEM - a French group tasked to conduct the identification of the Ivorian population." The paper explained that under the terms of this agreement, SAGEM will "closely collaborate" with the National Statistics Institute "to execute the identification scheme and to establish voter's cards." The paper also said that with funding of 161 million dollars by the government of Cote d'Ivoire the identification program and the production of the voter's cards will occur within eight months." According to the paper, the Spokesperson of the Ivorian Prime Minister reassured the public that "measures have been put in place to enable SAGEM and the National Statistics Institute to meet this deadline."

4. Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling party): In a front-page story, the paper alluded to pressure factors on Gbagbo as "Those who forced President Gbagbo to sign the decree setting November 30 as the date of the long-awaited presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire." Citing unnamed sources, the paper claimed that "The pressure came from the UN Secretary General Representative in Cote d'Ivoire, Choi Young Jin and Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore - facilitator in the Ivoirian peace process." The paper said, "To force the Ivorian leader to speed up the implementation of the Ouagadougou Agreement, Choi and Compaore brought forward an argument that, due to the delay in the implementation by the Ivorian authorities of the agreement, the international community was considering to take over the dossier."

5. In a front-page story, Soir Info (a privately-owned daily) tried to unveil the "mystery" surrounding the new date of the coming elections. The paper went on to explain that considering "the volume of tasks" to be completed and "the artificial obstacles" that may come up on the way to the polls, "November 30 looks like a date that was set just to please the international community." "The disarmament, which constitutes an important step for the identification scheme and the identification itself are yet to begin," observed the paper. As the date of the elections was officially announced just a few days before Gbagbo flew to New York to attend the Security Council Meeting, the paper quoted a diplomatic source as suggesting that "Gbagbo and Soro worked against the clock to enable the Ivorian President to travel to U.S with a date in his suitcase, because the original plan to hold the elections in coming June became virtually impossible."

6. A banner headline that ran across Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition) said that the Ivorian government's decision to set the first round of the forthcoming presidential elections on November 30 could turn to be "a big hoax." The paper suggested that this could be "a plan crafted by Gbagbo and Soro to gain time and ruse people tasked to organize the presidential elections." In a separate commentary, the paper viewed the announcement of the date of the polls as "a charming operation" ahead of Gbagbo's meeting with UN officials on the peace process in Cote d'Ivoire.

7. Meanwhile Fraternite Matin indicated that Gbagbo, who flew yesterday to New York to attend the UN Security Council Meeting on peacekeeping and international security issues, will use the opportunity "to market the idea of direct dialogue" that resulted in the singing of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement.

8. Fraternite Matin also devoted its front page to a message to the Ivorian political stakeholders from the Roman Catholic Clerics, who called upon the politicians "to accept in calm the verdict of polls," in reference to the forthcoming elections in Cote d'Ivoire.

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