Two ‘presidents’ claim power in Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN: Two men crowned themselves president in Ivory Coast’s bloody election dispute yesterday as Laurent Gbagbo defied international calls for him to cede power.

As Gbagbo’s allies hung the chain of office around his neck at a ceremony, ex-prime minister Alassane Ouattara, backed as election winner by the United Nations, swore himself in as president in a handwritten letter.

The bizarre standoff unfolded amid reports of more deadly violence and urgent calls from world powers for a peaceful resolution to the disputed election, meant to end a decade of conflict in the west African country.

UN-certified results from last Sunday’s run-off vote showed Ouattara as the winner, but Gbagbo’s high court allies overturned them by annulling allegedly rigged ballots in parts of the north, his rival’s stronghold.

The United Nations, the European Union and others have recognised Ouattara as Ivory Coast’s new president.

The African Union became the latest international body Saturday to recognise the Independent Electoral Commission result that gave him victory, condemning any attempt to seize power by a “fait accompli”.

But the incumbent Gbagbo refused to step aside and told outsiders to mind their own business.

“In recent days I have noted serious cases of interference,” he said in a speech at the presidential headquarters after being sworn in by his allies before a roomful of whooping, clapping supporters.

“I am charged with defending our sovereignty and I will not negotiate on that,” he said. “I wish various people would pull themselves together.”

Ouattara countered by signing a handwritten oath of office and sending it in his “capacity as president” to the Constitutional Council, the court authorised to certify election results.

“The exceptional circumstances Ivory Coast is undergoing at the moment do not permit me to swear the oath in person before the Constitutional Council,” he wrote. “That is why I have the honour of sending you my written oath.”

Prime Minister Guillaume Soro, leader of the New Forces movement that controls the north, offered his resignation to Ouattara who immediately re-appointed him to the post, in front of reporters.

Hours after Gbagbo was sworn back into office, an African Union statement rejected “any attempt to create a fait accompli to undermine the electoral process and the will of the people...”

Such a move would further complicate “an already serious situation” and plunge the country into “a crisis of incalculable consequences,” it warned.

Deadly violence has left at least 17 people dead since last week in the fiercely-fought election.

The military has sealed the country’s borders and jammed foreign news broadcasts, but a curfew in Abidjan failed to prevent a deadly shooting overnight, residents told AFP.

Two people were killed when security forces opened fire during clashes between local supporters of the rival candidates in Abidjan’s southern Port-Bouet district, where a French military base and the airport are located.

After a nightly curfew passed, angry young Ouattara supporters hit the streets of Abidjan for a second day on Saturday, setting fire to tyres that sent thick black smoke into the sky.

Soldiers were deployed on foot and in vehicles with mounted guns in Abidjan, while armoured vehicles from the UN peacekeeping force in the country guarded the hotel housing Ouattara’s campaign base, where Soro also spoke to reporters.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned of ongoing instability and called on Gbagbo “to do his part for the good of the country and to cooperate in a smooth political transition.”

In his speech Gbagbo urged Ivorians to “work with all the countries of the world in friendship but never let yourself be made a vassal to any country or any institution.”

On Friday Ouattara urged the police and armed forces “to uphold their mission to protect people and property.”

Military leaders later appeared on state television apparently pledging allegiance to Gbagbo.

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