Gbagbo calls for calm

2005-09-18 22:51

Abidjan - Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo on Sunday called for calm when his mandate officially ends on October 30 despite his refusal to relinquish power.

"Either there are elections on October 30 and there will be a new president or there are no elections and we will fix another date and we'll see," said Gbagbo according to a report on national television.

"I'd like all Ivorian politicians to lower the tone, to calm down, there must be calls for Ivorians to remain serene and calm," the president said.

"They (Ivorians) must understand our destiny is in our hands... after October 30, there will not be a civil war, there will be nothing at all," Gbagbo said.

There has been a major political debate in the Ivory Coast after the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said on September 8 the October 30 elections couldn't be held because of the lack of cooperation among political leaders and raised the prospect of sanctions against the country.

Rebels and the opposition, including former president Henri Konan Bedie, who this month returned to the country with plans to run for office again for the once all-powerful Ivory Coast Democratic Party, have called for a renewed transition government but without Gbagbo.

Advisers to Gbagbo have repeatedly said he will remain in power should there be any delay in the election.

Ivory Coast, once a haven of stability in west Africa, has been split in two since a failed coup against Gbagbo in September 19, 2002, pitting rebels from the Muslim-dominated north against the government in the Christian-populated south.

- SAPA