Ivory Coast poll postponed

2008-11-11 10:21

Ouagadougou - Ivory Coast's political leaders said on Monday that a post-war presidential election could not take place as planned on November 30 and asked electoral officials to set a new date by December 31.

Preparations for the much-delayed polls are long behind schedule and announcement of a further postponement had been widely expected at a meeting on Monday in neighbouring Burkina Faso of top Ivorian politicians and a regional mediator.

A complex national identification process is far from complete, as is disarmament of fighters from a 2002/03 civil war that split the world's top cocoa grower in two.

Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaore met on Monday in Ouagadougou with members of a permanent consultation committee (CPC) overseeing a March 2007 peace deal he mediated.

"The CPC noted the impossibility of organising the presidential election on the official date of November 30, 2008," said a joint statement issued by the group.

The CPC includes Ivory Coast's President Laurent Gbagbo, rebel leader Guillaume Soro, who is now prime minister, and leading opposition figures.

"The CPC has immediately invited the president of the independent electoral commission to establish without delay a precise timetable for electoral identification and registration. The timetable should be published before Dec 31," they said.

- Reuters