African Union suspends Côte d'Ivoire over controversial elections

African Union suspends Côte d'Ivoire over controversial elections

2010-12-10 01:44:51 GMT+7 (ICT)

ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (BNO NEWS) -- The African Union (AU) on Thursday suspended Côte d'Ivoire following the controversial presidential elections and fraud allegations on the results.

AU official Ramtane Lamamra said that the West African country will remain suspended from the international body until opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara is recognized as winner of the run-off and takes over the helm of the nation.

The suspension was decided after incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo rejected the results announced by the Independent Electoral Commission and demanded the annulment of votes in some regions alleging fraud.

Gbabgo has ignored calls from neighboring countries, the African Union and the United Nations, to accept the results and desist rejecting Ouattara’s victory. After Gbabgo’s claims, the Constitutional Counciln reverted the decision and said that the current president was the winner of the polls.

"Mr. Ouattara is the winner of the election," Malawi President and African Union Chairman Bingu wa Mutharika said on Wednesday. "President Gbagbo should respect the will of the people through the ballot and therefore needs to stand down to avoid another bloodshed in Africa over power."

The UN mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) announced that there is absolutely no doubt that the opposition leader won the presidential elections. Y.J. Choi, the Special Representative for the UN Secretary-General on Wednesday detailed the methods used to certify and ratify the polls.

The Constitutional Council annulled results in seven regions and informed that Gbagbo won 51 percent of the votes as Ouattara only 49 percent.

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.

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