Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
21 April 2008
Abidjan — Catholic bishops have asked citizens to vote wisely following the announcement that presidential elections will be held November 30.
"Now that the elections dates have been made public, we ask that the people of Ivory Coast begin working peacefully in preparation for the elections, that they may be clean and honest," the bishops said, according to FIDES.
The elections were postponed to allow for ballot registrations by the National Statistics Institute and a French company that is issuing the new identification documents.
The bishops' statement followed a meeting with between Archbishop Barthelemy Djabla of Gagnoa, vice-president of the bishops' Conference and Henri Konan Bedie, President of the Democratic Party of the Ivory Coast (PDCI) and one of the candidates running for president.
Archbishop Djabla pointed out that the Church was at the service of the entire population, whether they were Christian or of other religions. He said that the bishops had wanted to meet with the president of the PDCI to offer their suggestions in the peacekeeping effort.
Archbishop Djabla also said that though, as a divine institution, the Church cannot enter into political questions, it has a duty to intervene in order to help the country's leaders respect the dignity of each human being, created in God's image.
The date for elections, which has changed several times, was finally announced Monday, following an extraordinary meeting of the government and the candidates. Candidates running for presidency are: President Laurent Gbagbo, Premier Guillaume Soro, and the two main leaders of the opposition, Konan Bedie and former Premier Alassane Outtara.
FIDES reported that the announcement of the election date has been positively received by citizens, who see it as a decisive moment in the country's process of stabilization. The Ivory Coast is emerging from the most serious crisis in its history that began in September 2002 following coups d'etat that split the country in two. The conflict was finally resolved through international intervention.
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