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 meeting of the UN Security Council Wednesday on the peace process underway in Cote d'Ivoire and the latest developments in the country were the subjects of front-page stories in today's Ivorian press. The decision by Ivorian investigators to question top French officials in connection with a probe into the November 2004 bombardment of a French military office in the central city of Bouake, the government's efforts to find a solution to the power shortage and plans to stamp out child labor in Cote d'Ivoire were the other major issues in the press.

1. A prominent story in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin said that the United Nations is "deeply concerned" by the continuing delay of the presidential elections in Cote d'Ivoire. According to the paper, the Security Council meeting Wednesday called for the "urgent" publication of the final electoral list. "The political impasse that the country went through in early January and February this year following the production of the electoral list resulted in serious weakening of the electoral momentum," the paper quoted Y.J. Choi, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Cote d'Ivoire, as telling the Security Council yesterday. [NOTE: Political tensions began to mount in Cote d'Ivoire after voter registration was suspended due to violence and the dissolution of both the Government and the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) in February by President Laurent Gbagbo.] But Cote d'Ivoire's Ambassador to the UN Alcide Djedje reportedly told the council that the disarmament program and reunification of the country are conditions for "credible elections" in this country. "The time has come to disarm and re-unify Cote d'Ivoire," the paper quoted Djedje as saying. The Ivorian diplomat went on to say: "Cote d'Ivoire will go to the polls if significant progress is made in the application of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement relating to the restoration of the state authority throughout the country."

2. Still on the Security Council's meeting, Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the Cabinet of the Ivorian Prime Minister) quoted Choi as saying that the provisional voter roll, which was published in November last year; and widely known as "the white list", is "credible and balanced." The list, Choi reportedly told the council, was processed and produced by two technical operators: the National Statistics Institute and SAGEM [a French group that conducted the identification program in Cote d'Ivoire].

3. Reporting on the Security Council's meeting, L'Expression (a daily close to the opposition) said that the UN has rejected "Gbagbo's plan to audit the 5.3 million voters." "The UN acquits Mambe," said another prominent story in Le Mandat (a daily close to the opposition PDCI-RDA party). [NOTE: Robert Beugre Mambe was the former electoral commissioner who was accused of voters' fraud.] Speaking yesterday before the UN Security Council, Choi "slammed Gbagbo," wrote Le Patriote (a daily close to the opposition). In a related development, the paper quoted a top opposition figure as saying: "The UN should organize the elections in Cote d'Ivoire."

4. On the ground, the Independent Electoral Commission is virtually under siege, as the women's wing of the RHDP - an opposition coalition - yesterday organized a sit-in demonstration to demand that the body fix a date for the long-delayed presidential elections, reported Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the opposition PDCI-RDA party). The demonstrators, the paper said, held placards with message reading: "We want a final date for the elections."

5. A report in L'Inter (an independent daily) said that the head of the electoral body, Youssouf Bakayoko, has promised to announce very soon a new calendar for the remaining tasks to be completed as part of the electoral process. The electoral commissioner made the announcement yesterday during a workshop organized for executive electoral commissioners, reported the paper, this in reaction to those who have been accusing him of doing nothing since he assumed duty. "Time is running out," Bakayoko however admitted, the paper said. Reporting on the same issue, Fraternite Matin quoted the electoral commissioner, who reassured Ivorians that the CEI will not "improvise" in its efforts to conduct the up-coming elections. In a related development, Fraternite Matin reported that Ivorian Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Marie Kacou Gervais yesterday reassured foreign diplomats about Cote d'Ivoire's commitment to the ongoing peace process through the implementation of the Ouagadougou Political Agreement.

6. The controversy over the November 2004 bombardment of a French military base in the central city of Bouake by Ivorian government forces has surfaced again; as Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) informed readers that Ivorian investigators are to question top French officials in connection with a probe into the matter. According to the paper, martial court judge Jean Ehui wants to hear former French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie and former Foreign Affairs Minister Dominique de Villepin testify in connection with this bombardment that killed nine French soldiers and one American civilian on November 6, 2004.

7. In another development, Notre Voie said that a project aimed at fighting the use of child labor in cocoa farms in Cote d'Ivoire was launched a week ago in Abidjan. The three-year government project, which is being financed by UNICEF, is to protect children by guaranteeing their fundamental rights, the report said. With more on efforts underway to eradicate child labor in Cote d'Ivoire, a report in Le Temps (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) said that the Ivorian Civil Service and Labor Minister, Emile Guirieoulou, announced the government's plan to pass a bill seeking to punish the use of child labor on cocoa farms. The minister, the paper reported, said this after a meeting with Ambassador Nesbitt on Tuesday.

8. Finally, a report in Fraternite Matin said that the government has started implementing measures aimed at resolving the electricity problem facing Cote d'Ivoire. According to the paper, a 300-Megawatt power plant that provides electricity to the country has been repaired. The announcement, the paper said, was made by managers of the plant as they called on the Ivorian Mines and Energy Minister Augustin Komoe Kouadio yesterday.