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.

Today's Ivorian newspapers focused on political parties' campaign activities for the November 30, 2008 presidential elections. The papers continue to report on the Code of Good Conduct document that was signed last week by the political stakeholders in Cote d'Ivoire.

1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A front-page story in the paper said that the former Ivorian President, who is also the leader of the PDCI-RDA party, Henri Konan Bedie, wanted "the impartial forces to secure the forthcoming elections in Cote d'Ivoire." According to the paper, Bedie was speaking at a rally in Soubre, in south-western Cote d'Ivoire, to thousands of supporters over the weekend. Bedie is quoted as saying, "In a democracy and in our country, the vote is essential... If we choose a bad candidate, this means that during their tenure in office, we will find ourselves facing difficulties, like those we have been confronted with during the past seven years... Voting is a power. This power has been given to us by our Constitution which is our political compass. You have to freely exercise it without fear, because it is your right."

2. According to Fraternite Matin, the rally in Soubre was part of a nationwide political campaign in order "to retake power that it lost following a military coup d'etat in December 24, 1999." The paper said, Bedie used the opportunity to talk about the current state of the economy in Cote d'Ivoire by accusing "The 'Reformers [the name of the ruling FPI party]' to have killed the economy, and the agriculture." The paper further said, Bedie promised "to create a new Cote d'Ivoire, where Ivorians - irrespective of their origin - could fulfill their dreams as human beings."

3. In a related development, Fraternite Matin reported on Pascal Affi N'Guessan's (the President of the ruling FPI party) sixteen-day political tour in the northern regions. Speaking in Korhogo, Mr. N'Guessan called on civil workers to return to their posts in the zones formerly under the control of the New Forces. He is quoted as telling his supporters the following - "I would like to call upon all government functionaries, who are still afraid to come to the zones that were formerly besieged... I would like to tell them that in Korhogo there is nothing, there is life, there is peace. One can come and work in Korhogo. I have been touring the northern regions for the past month. I organized rallies in nearly 60 localities and sometime late in the night. At no point was there any incident." The paper also said that the visit of the FPI's president to Korhogo has helped open up the gates of the region to the ruling party.

4. Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition): Reporting on Affi N'Guessan's tour to the northern region, the paper suggested that the ruling party has "taken over the stronghold of the RDR - an opposition party led by Alassane Dramane Ouattara." According to the paper, the chairman of the ruling party launched what it called "A Marshall Plan," designed to provide the populations in the north with social amenities including clean water, health centers, and education.

5. Nord-Sud Quotidien also reported on the campaign activities in Yamoussoukro of Gnamien Konan. Mr. Gnamien is the former Director of the customs services, who recently announced his intention to contest the forthcoming presidential elections. In telling the gathering the reason for the decision to run, the presidential aspirant reportedly said that the motive was to avoid "another disastrous power shift" in Cote d'Ivoire. According to the paper, Gnamien also said that "Cote d'Ivoire would not have found itself in the current situation if Felix Houphouet Boigny [the father of independence] had retired earlier."

6. Reporting on religious matters, Nord-Sud Quotidien said that more than 4,000 Muslims gathered yesterday in Abidjan to celebrate the anniversary of Prophet Mohamed. According to the paper the gathering brought together "the major experts of the Tidjanie Brotherhood." They are from Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire; their discussions focused on the topic: "Who is Prophet Mohamed?"

7. Le Patriote (a daily close to the RDR party): Reacting to the ruling FPI party's "Marshall Plan" to speed up development of the northern regions, the paper accused Affi N'Guessan of "blackmail." According to the paper, Affi N'Guessan said "Vote for Gbagbo and you will have an emergency plan that will enable you to develop your region."

8. Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition): In a front-page story, the paper alleged that the Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo did not sign the Code of Good Conduct. The paper further said that "the fact that Gbagbo, who will be contesting the coming elections, did not append his signature to the document is proof that he [Gbagbo] will not accord any importance to this document." (NOTE: President Gbagbo did not sign personally, but the Secretary General of the FPI signed on behalf of the party.)

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