UN’s Côte d’Ivoire envoy holds talks on planned elections

The senior United Nations envoy to Côte d’Ivoire today held talks on elections planned for next year in the country, which has been divided since 2002 between the rebel-held north and Government-controlled south.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative for Côte d’Ivoire, Y.J. Choi, met the President of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Robert Mambé, at the IEC office in Abidjan.

“We had a broad discussion on the electoral process,” Mr. Choi said at the end of the meeting, which lasted about one hour, according to the UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI).

A peace accord signed earlier this year by leaders of the Government and rebel Forces Nouvelles in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, paved the way for the elections planned for 2008.

Mr Choi, who arrived in Côte d’Ivoire on 20 November, has already met with diplomats, donors and key political players, including President Laurent Gbagbo and the leaders of the Democratic Party of Côte d’Ivoire, Henry Konan Bédié, and the Rally for Republicans, Alassane Dramane Ouattara.