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UN / COTE D'IVOIRE

Choi Young-jin, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Côte d'Ivoire tells the Security Council that the political impasse in the country has seriously weakened the electoral momentum and that it is, "quite regrettable" to see the elections once again delayed. UNTV / FILE
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00:02:13
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U100317a
Description

STORY: UN / COTE D'IVOIRE
TRT: 2.13
SOURCE: UNTV/ ONUCI
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ FRENCH/ NATS

DATELINE: 17 MARCH 2010, NEW YORK CITY/ FILE

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Shotlist

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior UN building

17 MARCH 2010, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Choi Young-Jin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire:
“The political impasse that started in early January this year in the wake of the production of the second electoral list by the former Electoral Commission President Mr. Mambe resulted in a serious weakening of the electoral momentum. It is quite regrettable to see the elections once again, delayed.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Alcide Djedje, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Cote d'Ivoire to the United Nations:
“Priority must now be given to making a reliable electoral list, for clean and credible elections. To do this, two essential actions must be undertaken; firstly removing from the file 429,030 people that the former president of the Commission wished to fraudulently register on the electoral roll.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Alcide Djedje, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Cote d'Ivoire to the United Nations:
“The time has come to disarm and unify Cote d’Ivoire. The main point contained in article 3 of the 4th amendment to the Ouagadougou political agreement can no longer be postponed if we wish to hold free elections in Cote d’Ivoire according to the criteria defined by the United Nations.”
9. Zoom out, Security Council
10. Pan left, Choi Young-Jin walks to the microphone
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Choi Young-Jin, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Côte d’Ivoire:
“We don’t know yet when we will have the definitive list, so any projection over and beyond this step – the definitive list – will be futile for us to make any projection now.”
12. Pan right, Choi Young-Jin walks away from the microphone

FILE – ONUCI - 4 MARCH 2010, ABIDJAN, CÔTE D’IVOIRE

14. Pan left, new ministers arriving at presidential palace
15. Wide shot, new government group picture

FILE – ONUCI - 5 MARCH 2010, ABIDJAN, CÔTE D’IVOIRE

17. Wide shot, officials arriving at headquarters of Independent Electoral Commission (IEC)
18. Med shot, application submission to new IEC President
19. Med shot, new IEC President signing
20. Wide shot, former IEC President meeting new IEC President

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Storyline

The long-awaited and much-delayed presidential elections as well as reunification are the key issues for Côte d'Ivoire, the top United Nations envoy there said today (17 March) lamenting the loss of momentum towards holding polls in the near future.

Côte d’Ivoire, which became split by civil war in 2002 into a rebel-held north and Government-controlled south, was supposed to hold the elections as far back as 2005. The polls have been repeatedly postponed, most recently from 29 November last year to this March. A new date has not yet been set.

Y. J. Choi, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Côte d'Ivoire, told the Security Council that “it is quite regrettable to see the elections once again delayed.”

The West African nation was making progress last year toward holding the elections, including the publication of the provisional electoral list throughout the country, the launch of the appeals process, and the validation of all major candidates for the presidential election.

Choi noted that the political impasse that started in early January this year following the production of the second electoral list resulted in “serious weakening of the electoral momentum.”

Political tensions began to mount after voter registration was suspended due to violence and President Laurent Gbagbo dissolved the Government and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in February.

Ivorian Ambassador Alcide Djedje told the Council that “priority must now be given to making a reliable electoral list, for clean and credible elections” adding that “the time has come to disarm and unify Cote d’Ivoire."

The provisional electoral list published in November by the IEC had about 5.3 million confirmed people and around 1 million people who still need to be confirmed.

Choi told reporters after the Council meeting that it is not known when the definitive list will be produced and added that any projection “over and beyond this step” will be futile.

Top UN officials have repeatedly called on the Ivorian parties to resolve the challenges related to the delayed elections through dialogue, within the framework of the Ouagadougou Peace Agreements, the 2007 blueprint for political reconciliation forged in the capital of neighboring Burkina Faso.

In a statement read out to the press after the meeting by Ambassador Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet of Gabon, which holds the Council’s presidency for this month, the Council urged the Ivorian stakeholders to bring their full support to the work of the IEC in order to complete the final voters list in the coming weeks.

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