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United States Embassy (Abidjan)

Côte d'Ivoire: American Embassy's National Daily Press Review

16 September 2008

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press release

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

The official launching of the voters' registration in Cote d'Ivoire on September 15, 2008 was the major news item in pro and anti-government newspapers, today. The call by the Ivorian First Lady and vice president of the ruling Ivorian People's Front (FPI), Simone Ehivet Gbagbo to review the Ouagadougou Political Agreement dominated commentaries in today's dailies. The papers also reported on government's reforms in its efforts to revive the coffee and cocoa industry.

1. Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily): A prominent story in this paper said that the voters' registration exercise, which began yesterday, would be completed in forty-five days. The report said the operation was launched yesterday in Yamoussoukro, Cote d'Ivoire's political capital, by President Laurent Gbagbo. According to the paper, during the launching ceremony, President Gbagbo said "Today our heart is full of joy, as we will have the voters' registers within 45 days." The Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission, Robert Beugre Mambe, who was in attendance, reportedly projected that "about nine millions of Ivorians will be counted." The report further said that the U.N Secretary General's Special Representative in Cote d'Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, welcomed the beginning of the identification program, saying, "it's is the corner stone" of the progress made in the peace process underway in Cote d'Ivoire.

2. In a commentary Fraternite Matin borrowed words from President Gbagbo's declaration during the ceremony, where he reportedly said the voters' registration is "a challenge." The paper then pointed out that the exercise would, not only allow nine million potential voters to have their voting cards, but they will also acquire their national identity cards. According to the paper, "the identification process will help resolve an old dispute that was used to justify the war that the country went through."

3. Reporting on the same event, L'inter (an independent daily) noted that the Ivorian former rebel leader-turn Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, was absent during the ceremony. Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition) questioned whether "Soro boycotted Gbagbo." Nord-Sud Quotidien on the other hand, reported on Meite Sindou, the Prime Minister's spokesperson's rejection of allegations that the Prime Minister deliberately stayed away from the ceremony. According to the paper, Sindou said that the Prime Minister, who was fully involved in the preparation for this event, developed "a severe cold at the last minute."

4. A recent call made by the Ivorian First Lady and vice president of the ruling Ivorian People's Front (FPI), Simone Ehivet Gbagbo to review the Ouagadougou Political Agreement was again a dominant issue in Fraternite Matin. The paper suggested that as the political compromise reached by the former belligerents is stuck on financial problems, Mrs Gbagbo is proposing what the paper called "a re-adjustment" of the peace deal. The paper carried the full text of the First Lady's interview, which was granted to RFI - a French international radio network. In the interview Mrs. Gbagbo said, "The solutions contained in the Ouagadougou Political Agreement are too expensive."

5. On the possible delay of the presidential election, Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close the former ruling PDCI-RDA party) commented that the ruling party is preparing "an electoral hold-up." The paper further suggested recipes on "how to remove President Gbagbo from power in case the elections were not held on November 30." The paper also called President Gbagbo "Mugabe's wannabe," adding that he [Gbagbo] has a penchant for Zimbabwe's president.

6. Criticizing the government's reforms to revive the coffee and cocoa industry in Cote d'Ivoire, Le Nouveau Reveil commented that this decision has proven that "The ruling FPI party's program designed to revamp the coffee and cocoa industry has failed."

7. In a related development, Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition) said that cocoa producers have rejected the government's reforms, and are threatening to embark on strike to paralyze the industry.

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