This daily press review is compiled by the Information Section of the Public Affairs Office of the American Embassy in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. For questions regarding this service, please contact: Mr. Teko Folli in the Public Affairs Press Office, TekoFX@state.gov.

The electoral registration process and the aftermath of the trial concerning the dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan are the main topics in today's Ivorian dailies.

Fraternité Matin (a state owned daily) reporting on the electoral registration process said in a banner front page headline that the operations of both electoral registration and the Ivorian population identification process are a real obstacle course. The paper explained that there are many difficulties hindering efficient implementation of the programs. The shortage of electoral registration agents, insufficient technical equipment, slowness of operations, and lack of organization are some of the problems which, according to the paper, could jeopardize the effectiveness of the processes.

L'Inter (an independent daily) released an interview with Mr. Konaté Navigué (the president of the youth wing of the ruling FPI party) as saying that many cases of fraud have been noticed during the electoral registration process. He delivered this speech during a meeting he had in the head office of his political party to provide a partial assessment of the registration process. Mr. Navigué reportedly denouncedthe lack of transparency and absence of agents of National Statistics Institute as evidence of the poor implementation of the electoral registration process.

On the same subject Nord Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition) announced that the youth wing of the former ruling PDCI has created a committee to prevent fraud during the electoral registration process. The paper explained that this initiative was a response to the committee already created by the youth wing of the ruling FPI. The paper also fears that these committees could become a source of violent confrontations between the youth sections of the political parties.

Le Temps (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) suspected Minister Koné Mamadou (in charge of the Department of Justice) of planning massive fraud during the electoral registration process, in complicity with the opposition RDR. The paper claimed that the decision of the Minister to transfer records from public sessions to his cabinet was a strategy to help the opposition RDR party organize massive fraud during the electoral registration process. The paper also released an interview with Ambassador André Janier (the French Ambassador to Cote d'Ivoire) in which he is reported to have said that the postponement of the forthcoming presidential election won't cause any catastrophe given that the essential steps have begun and are irreversible.

Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI party) suspected the National Statistics Institute to be in complicity with the ruling FPI party to sabotage the electoral registration process.

On the subject of the trial concerning the dumping of toxic waste in Abidjan in August 2006, Fraternité Matin (a state owned daily) said that Mr. Gossio (the current director of of the Abidjan Port Authority) and Mr. Gnamien Konan (the former director of the Ivorian Custom Service) denied any guilt in the dumping of toxic waste. They declared these denials during their first appearance in court as witnesses in the framework of the trial concerning the toxic waste case. According to the paper, these personalities said that their tasks were just technical ones and were not meant to detect the danger relating to the toxic waste.

Nord Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the opposition) quoted Mr.Gossio as saying: "I did not know that the waste dumped in Abidjan was toxic; I was informed at the same timeas all of the Ivorian population." The paper reprted that Mr. Gossio and Mr. Gnamien assertedthat they had been mislead by some of their collaborators. Le Jour Plus (a daily close to the opposition) said that both Mr.Gossio and Mr.Gnamien Konan are avoiding their responsibilities in the dumping of toxic waste in August 2006.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

L'Inter (an independent daily) reported on the US presidential elections saying that candidate John McCain is taking a risky strategy to catch up with Obama in the opinion polls. The paper noted that the series of verbal attacks John McCain and Sarah Palin are making against Obama could hurt them.

Le Matin d'Abidjan (a daily close to the ruling FPI) released an article from a French magazine about an investigation of Governor Sarah Palin for abuse of power. According to the story, she is suspected of having dismissed the Security Commissioner of Alaska, Walt Monegan, for failing to fire her brother-in-law, who had experienced a difficult divorce with her sister.