UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday urged Cote d'Ivoire
to speed up its peace process, saying the UN Assembly in
mid-September will discuss the country's approaching elections.
Annan made the remarks at the press conference after a
three-hour meeting with Ivorian government and rebel leaders in
Yamoussoukro, the country's political capital.
He said the tenure of President Laurent Gbagbo would be
discussed during the UN Assembly in mid-September if Cote d'Ivoire
could not hold the election as scheduled in October, and the UN
Security Council would decide whether to postpone the ballot.
According to the joint communique issued after the meeting, the
Ivorian Independent Electoral Commission will set up offices across
the country before July 31.
A joint working group will be established to monitor the
implementation of the disarmament plan by the government and rebel
forces, which is a key precondition for the presidential
election.
Cote d'Ivoire was plunged into a civil war in September 2002
following a failed coup against President Gbagbo. It has since been
divided into the government-ruled south and the rebel-held
north.
The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1633 in October 2005,
proposing the presidential election be held in October 2006. The UN
resolution also allowed Gbagbo to extend his tenure for one more
year after differences prevented the two sides from holding the
planned presidential vote in October 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency July 6, 2006)
