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 press reported on comments by the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission that the voter registration exercise, which officially ended on Tuesday, June 30, 2009, will not be extended. The general political atmosphere in this West African country in the run-up to the up-coming presidential elections was also a major story in the papers today and others over the weekend. The International Crisis Group's assessment of the political situation in Cote d'Ivoire, and reports on the eradication of child labor in Cote d'Ivoire were also in the news. On U.S. issues, the dailies reported on Ambassador Wanda L. Nesbitt's speech on July 4 celebration and President Obama's July 10-11 maiden visit to Accra, Ghana.

1. A prominent story in today's Fraternite Matin (a state-owned daily) said that the voter registration exercise is over. The report said this was announced by Mr. Robert Beugre Mambe, the head of the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), the body tasked with organizing Cote d'Ivoire's presidential elections billed for November 29. Mr. Mambe made the announcement on Saturday in Ouagadougou after a meeting with Burkinabe President Blaise Compaore who is also the facilitator in the Ivorian peace process, the report said. On the outcome of the voter registration exercise that was completed on Tuesday, June 30, 2009, the paper quoted the Commissioner, who said: "Between six to seven million persons have been registered and final results of the operation will be announced publicly next week." According to the paper the Commissioner said that the next step is to process the data collected during the exercise in order to come out with a provisional voters' roll.

2. In a prominent story, Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the former ruling PDCI-RDA party) confirmed the decision by the Electoral Commissioner not to extend the voter registration exercise. According to the report, the Commissioner said that this decision was "conform to the roadmap agreed upon during the May 18 meeting of the CPC (a committee overseeing the implementation of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement)." The Commissioner further said that the electoral body will meet the November 29 deadline in organizing the upcoming presidential elections. In its weekend edition, Le Nouveau Reveil said that the Independent Electoral Commission had announced the end of the voter registration exercise and that the New Forces - Cote d'Ivoire's former rebels - had also called for the respect of the electoral timetable. The paper further stated the New Forces also noted that "The date for the end of the exercise was to conform to recommendations of May 18 meeting of the CPC."

3. On International Crisis Group's report on the peace process in Cote d'Ivoire, L'inter (an independent daily) in its weekend's issue told readers that the situation in Cote d'Ivoire calls for "concern." In the report, it said: "To avoid jeopardizing Cote d'Ivoire's peace agreement, President Laurent Gbagbo and other Ivorian leaders must speed up implementation of its key provisions before the November election." On the 2007 Ouagadougou Political Agreement, the report said: "The disarmament process is at a standstill, with 9,000 former rebels yet to be integrated into reorganized police and armed forces, and up to 20,000 pro-government militias are also still in place. Arms destruction has been negligible, limited to a small amount of weapons. The economic crisis aggravates the situation by putting legions of poor and idle young men at the disposal of the Com-Zones [New Forces' military commanders] and pro-government militias."

4. On the general political atmosphere in Cote d'Ivoire, Fraternite Matin said the Chief of Staff of Defense and Security Forces, General Philippe Mangou, warned Ivorian political leaders "to respect the army." The paper quoted General Mangou, who was meeting with his troops on Thursday, as saying "We ask them to respect and to have consideration for defense and security forces that are making everything possible to ensure their security and to enable them to go about with their campaign." According to the paper, the Ivorian military commander was reacting to recent declarations by Ivorian opposition leader Alassane Dramane Ouattara. According to the paper, during a political rally a fortnight ago, Mr. Ouattara described the bombardment of Bouake in 2004 by government's forces in an attempt to retake the city then under the control of the New Forces as "stupid, barbaric and shameful."

5. As Cote d'Ivoire gears up for landmark presidential elections, a prominent story in the weekend's issue of Soir Info (an independent daily) said France "doubts" that the elections will take place on November 29. The paper said that French Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Kouchner was skeptical about the electoral timetable. According to the paper, the French diplomat, who was speaking in Dakar, last week had this to say on the coming Ivorian elections: "We still hope but we are more and more disappointed... I hope that elections would effectively take place according to plan."

6. On another development, Le Temps (a daily close of the ruling FPI party) in its Friday's issue reported on Ambassador Nesbitt's July 1 meeting with the executive secretariat of the child labor monitoring system in Cote d'Ivoire. According to the paper, the meeting allowed Ambassador Nesbitt to acquaint herself with the achievements of this committee.

7. "Cote d'Ivoire has made progress," Notre Voie (a daily close of the ruling FPI party) quoted Ambassador Nesbitt as saying. The paper was reporting on the ambassador's speech during a reception July 3 in Abidjan to mark 233rd anniversary of the American Independence Day. In a related development, Fraternite Matin published a commentary from an independent contributor on the declaration of American independence. The writer said this declaration paved the way for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948 by the United Nations.

8. As President Obama is expected in Accra on July 10-11, L'inter devoted the whole back page of its weekend's issue to publish a photo album depicting the visits of past American presidents to Africa. The paper culled photo album from: http://photos.america.gov/galleries/amgov/4110/africa_fr/.