Earlier this week, newly elected president Alassane Ouattara faced opposition by Laurent Gabagbo, who refused to cede power. Since then, a compromise has not been reached. Instead, Ouattara has set up a parallel government under his power. Ouattara and his team are currently using a hotel as the base for their government operations, while Gabagbo continues to lead his government from the president palace complex. As an expression of his opposition, Gbagob held an inauguration ceremony, appointing a new prime minister. While the United Nations and the United States has recognized Ouattara as the Ivory Coast's official government, Gbagbo has a majority support from the bureaucracy and the military. Former South African President and representative of the African Union, Thabo Mbeki has continues negotiations between the two sides with little success. Although Ouattara has urged Gbagbo to step down as a result of the elections, Gbagbo has not expressed any interest in doing so. United Nation officials are hoping that Mbeki will be able to mediate the situation and succeed in having Gbagbo cease power. In addition, the African Union has suspended the Ivory Coast as part of the African Union until a "democratically-elected president effectively assumes state power."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/06/world/africa/06ivorycoast.html?_r=1&ref=africa
This is absolutely mind blowing! WHO DOES THAT?! Gbagbo is crazy. The whole point of the election/governmental system is to ensure order and yet Gbagbo, a prominent government official, is defying this most basic principle. I definitely want to follow this case and see what happens.
ReplyDeleteExcellent article.