UN unveils methods used to ratify Ouattara victory in Côte d'Ivoire election

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UN unveils methods used to ratify Ouattara victory in Côte d'Ivoire election

2010-12-09 07:23:24 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations on Wednesday unveiled the methods used to ratify and certify Côte d'Ivoire's presidential elections that resulted in the victory of opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara.

The UN mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) announced that there is absolutely no doubt that the opposition leader won despite claims from outgoing President Laurent Gbagbo that indicate otherwise.

"The Ivorian people have chosen Mr. Alassane Ouattara with an irrefutable margin as the winner over Mr. Laurent Gbagbo," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative Y. J. Choi said.

Choi detailed the methods he sued to certify the results of the presidential run-off last month. The results have divided the country and generated a new crisis after the Constitutional Council overturned the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) results that proclaimed Ouattara as winner.

President Gbagbo claimed that the run-off was plagued with irregularities and called for the annulment of votes in four regions. The Constitutional Council annulled results in seven regions and informed that Gbagbo won 51 percent of the votes as Ouattara only 49 percent.

The council alleged that the annulments were based on two arguments: that the use of violence in nine departments in the north prevented people from voting, and that tally sheets there lacked the signature of the presidential camp’s representatives.

On Wednesday, Choi refuted Gbagbo claims of irregularities point by point and noted that even if contested tally sheets were thrown out, it was still clear that Ouattara had won. On the first issue, Choi said that voter participation was of 81 percent which means that there was not violence that prevented people from voting.

UNOCI reported that there were fewer violent acts in the north than in the west. On the second issue, the special representative said he reviewed all tally sheets in the concerned departments and eliminated all those lacking the signature of Gbagbo’s representatives.

"The upshot was that, even such an exercise did not alter in any significant way the outcome of the second round," Choi added. "On this basis, I remain absolutely certain that I have found the truth concerning the will of the Ivorian people as expressed on November 28."

Choi said he used three methods to arrive at the absolute conviction in regards to the winner. First he deployed 721 UNOCI members nationwide to receive voting trends as soon as possible. Secondly, he collected results from the 19 regional local electoral commissions, which confirmed the trends.

Finally, UNOCI examined all 20,000 tally sheets to see if there was a trace of fraud or manipulation, especially if they were signed. A certain number were discarded but these were not concentrated in particular regions but were spread randomly.

"I have been cited alternatively by the Government and the opposition camps as taking sides with the other party whenever UNOCI refused to side with it. I say with conviction that UNOCI has remained impartial. I present this as the evidence that I have succeeded in safeguarding my impartiality, the strength upon which I today lay the unequivocal result of the second round."

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