November 3, 2010

The first provisional results of Sunday‟s presidential elections, which were released yesterday by the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI), have sparked mixed reactions in pro and anti-government newspapers today.

1. A prominent banner headline in Le Nouveau Reveil (a daily close to the opposition RDR party) says the incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, opposition leader Alassane Ouattara and Henri Konan Bedie, the former Ivorian President, are running neck-and-neck, as the electoral commission announced Tuesday the first batch of provisional results of Sunday‟s “historic” presidential elections in Cote d‟Ivoire. The paper also quotes French Ambassador to Cote d‟Ivoire Jean Marc Simon, who said that the electoral system is “sufficiently reliable, making any attempt for fraud impossible.” According to the paper, the French diplomat was speaking yesterday in Abidjan after talks with Mr. Bedie, a candidate in Sunday‟s presidential elections.
2. “Results of October 31 presidential elections: Gbagbo is leading,” says a prominent story in Notre Voie (a daily close to the ruling FPI party). The paper suggests that in view of the provisional results that have been reported so far, Gbagbo and Ouattara are heading towards a run-off. Though more results are to be announced by the electoral body, the paper strongly believes that nothing could change this trend, and adds that these results have vindicated recent opinion polls conduct ahead of the vote.
3. Soir Info (an independent daily) also believes that a second round will be necessary to determine who between Gbagbo or Ouattara should become the next president of Cote d‟Ivoire. The paper also critically looks at the first results released by the electoral body and concludes that the incumbent president keeps hold of the Ivorian economic capital Abidjan, while the Ivorian opposition heavyweight Alssane Ouattara imposes his supremacy over the northern regions. With more on the voting trends, a prominent story in Le Nouveau Courrier (a daily close to the opposition RDR party) suggests that the first results of Sunday‟s votes have shown that Gbagbo‟s performance goes beyond ethnic considerations.
4. Commenting on the provisional results, Nord-Sud Quotidien (a daily close to the Prime Minister) indicates that the three big candidates – Gbagbo, Ouattara and Bedie – have maintained control over their strongholds. Another report carried by this paper quotes Ivorian Prime Minister, Guillaume Soro, the general overseer of the electoral process, calling on the electoral commission to announce the results as they are collected. According to the paper, the Prime Minister made the call during a meeting yesterday with religious leaders over the electoral process.
5. The publication of the first provisional results is also the subject of a front-page story in the state-owned daily Fraternite Matin, which also quotes the Prime Minister, who demanded that the electoral commission not to wait for the last voting report before announcing the results. Another report in this paper says that the European Union has denounced the delay in the publication of the results. “We regret the delay in the declaration of the results,” the paper quotes the head of the European Union‟s Observers group as saying.
6. A report in L’inter (an independent daily) says the UN Special Representative in Cote d‟Ivoire yesterday met with President Gbagbo, Mr. Bedie and Mr. Ouattara over Sunday‟s presidential elections. According to the paper, the UN boss used the occasion to call again on the three major candidates to respect the results of the votes. It also reports that the UN boss met with the Ivorian Prime Minister and the chairman of the electoral commission over “some difficulties” facing the electoral process. Though the UN boss did not elaborate on these difficulties, the paper quotes sources close to the electoral commission as saying that the difficulties have to do with disagreements between representatives of the parties sitting on the electoral body over the hand count of the ballots.
7. Finally, a prominent report in Le Temps (a daily close to the ruling FPI party) says that the Ivorian Army Commander, Gal Philippe Mangou, yesterday reassured the Ivorian population to go about their business. According to the paper, this assurance came after activities in Abidjan and its surroundings were virtually brought to a standstill following rumors that the announcement of the electoral results could spark violence in the country.