Politics
Ivory Coast parliamentary elections update: Ouattara party jubilant
Gbagbo, who had already held on to his job for five years after his initial mandate expired in 2005, was captured in his presidential palace by pro-Ouattara forces in April, with support from French and UN troops.
As the first former head of state to be brought before the International Criminal Court (ICC), he faces four counts of crimes against humanity including murder, rape and inhuman acts allegedly committed by his troops between December 16, 2010 and April 12.
A confirmation of charges hearing, to decide whether Gbagbo will eventually stand trial, is to be held on June 18.
The ICC is also investigating other figures in the conflict.
Prime Minister and former rebel leader Guillaume Soro, some of whose lieutenants have been charged with crimes, met ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo and his successor Fatou Bensouda in New York on Thursday.
With the victory of Ouattara’s party confirmed, the next question will be whether Soro, elected with a Soviet-style score of nearly 99 percent in his hometown of Ferkessedougou, will retain his post as prime minister.
Soro, who gave a keynote speech Thursday to the ICC’s member states, said he was ready to face an International Criminal Court trial for political killings if charged.
Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, has been plagued by a decade of political and military crisis. The election campaign was marred by five deaths, but the legislative poll itself took place without serious incident.
United Nations (UN) Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has hailed a “peaceful and orderly” vote, and West African regional bloc Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) said Tuesday that the elections had been free and fair despite a low turnout.
France said it saw the poll as “an important step in consolidating democracy and the ongoing process of reconstruction and reconciliation”.
Copyright 2011 AFP
