PRESS CONFERENCE ON CÔTE D’IVOIRE ELECTIONS

Warning that the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire was by no means irreversible, the United Nations official responsible for elections in that country emphasized this afternoon that dialogue and confidence-building measures were essential in addressing fears and perceptions of electoral fraud.

Gérard Stoudmann, United Nations High Representative for the Elections in Côte d’Ivoire, said at a Headquarters press conference that there were “completely understandable” concerns within President Laurent Gbagbo’s ruling Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) that the recently launched voter-identification scheme would “turn foreigners into Ivorians”, producing a new electoral list and denying the party victory at the polls.  The Government must address such fears through dialogue and public information, he added.

Such problems, which had largely been overblown, did not justify violence, he said, referring to recent street clashes that had resulted in at least one death.  Those who had put militants on the streets had taken on a very serious responsibility that, had reason not eventually prevailed, could have led to ethnic clashes and totally disrupted the peace process.  While the peace process would continue, there was much at stake, and the road ahead would be “bumpy”, because the process was not perfect.  Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny had promised to address problems through dialogue, as well as confidence-building and other measures, and street fighting was simply not worth the risk of setting back the whole peace process.

Outlining the origins of the recent violence, he said it was linked to the launching of “mobile courts”, charged with carrying out the identification process in the villages.  On the launch date, the FPI had decided to boycott the scheme, claiming it had too many deficiencies.  “Young Patriots” supporting the ruling party had taken to the streets, while militants backing the opposition Rassemblement des Republicaines (RDR) had decided to defend their constitutional right to be identified, resulting in street fighting.

The High Representative said the identification scheme had started the electoral process, which, hopefully, would lead to elections at the end of October.  A mini-summit would be held in New York on the margins of the General Assembly in mid-September to determine the electoral timetable and what decisions the Security Council should take following the 30 October deadline.

Earlier, the High Representative outlined the three pillars on which the Côte d’Ivoire peace process rested, saying that the identification scheme, the first pillar, aimed to give papers to those who had never been registered, but who were born in Côte d’Ivoire, be they citizens or not.  The acquisition of constitutional rights, including the right to vote, was linked to that process.  The third pillar was disarmament, upon which depended security to hold the elections, the extension of civil administration throughout the national territory and national reunification.

Asked about the time frame for the identification scheme, he said the mobile courts process would continue for two months, hopefully to be followed by the electoral process.  However, the process itself was more important than the time frame.  There was a need to move forward and reach the stage of irreversibility.  The Ivorian people were extremely tired of the prevailing situation, which included a looming humanitarian crisis and collapsing of infrastructure that had once been the best in West Africa.  The population and the country deserved better than the present limbo, which for too long had been “too convenient for some”.

Asked for a response to accusations by the opposition Forces Nouvelles that the Prime Minister had not been tough enough with President Gbagbo, Mr. Stoudmann said the Prime Minister deserved praise for walking “a very thin line”, maintaining his essential symbiotic relationship with the President and moving the peace process forward, while talking to all parties.  On Monday, he had received the Young Patriots, as well as the militants supporting the opposition and several public officials.

He pointed out that it was very easy to criticize, but the Prime Minister did not control State structures, as the position would allow him to do in other countries.  The Prime Minister was doing his best and had been quite successful, so far.  The main thing was the survival of the “tandem” between himself and the President, because there was no good alternative.

Asked for his opinion on how long the President should remain, given the constant postponements of elections, Mr. Stoudmann said that question should be addressed to the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States, the South African mediation and the Security Council.  They were driving the political process.

Responding to a question about birth certificates, he said that was part of the problem.  A large number of people -– 500,000 according to the FPI and 4 million according to the Forces Nouvelles, with the truth falling somewhere in between -- had never been registered or acquired a birth certificate.  It was they who would benefit most from the identification process.  If it was determined that they had been born in the location where the relevant mobile court was taking place and that they were Ivorian, they would get a court ruling enabling them to vote.

In response to a question about child soldiers, he told the same journalist that, while the Young Patriots were very young, they were neither children nor soldiers.  The militants were more likely to include students and street gang members.

Asked about the possibility of the United Nations providing security for the mobile courts, he said that was not within the mandate of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire, which provided second-echelon security for the extraction of observers and VIP protection.  Providing security for the identification process was an Ivorian task.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record