นสพ.คอม - Reports: Cote d Ivoire s presidential elections delayed

<body> <h1>Reports: Cote d Ivoire s presidential elections delayed</h1> <p> Reports: Cote d Ivoire s presidential elections delayed ABIDJAN, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The presidential election in Cote d Ivoire which was scheduled for November 30 has been delayed. Leading politicians of the West African country made a joint statement on Monday, saying the presidential race could not be held as planned as preparations for the polls were behind schedule, said agencies reports. They asked electoral officials to choose anew date for the election by Dec.31. The politicians were meeting in Burkina Faso on Monday. The joint statement said, The CPC (the permanent consultation committee) noted the impossibility of organizing the presidential election on the official date of Nov.30, 2008. Cote d Ivoire President Laurent Gbagbo and Prime Minister Guillaume Soro were both included in the committee. The UN Security Council expressed grave concerns last Saturday over another election delay in Cote d Ivoire, saying the current voter identification and registration process was too slow for the scheduled poll date. It indicated that the Nov. 30 presidential election may have to be postponed again because of the slow identification and registration work, posing a risk to compromise the whole peace process in the West African nation. The statement, which was issued by the United Nations Operation in Cote d Ivoire , appealed to all parties concerned to take immediate, necessary and concrete measures to ensure that the operations of voter identification and registration are accomplished by the end of January 2009, and a credible and transparent election can be held by the end of spring. Later last month, the Security Council decided to extend arms and diamonds embargo on Cote d Ivoire for an additional year until Oct. 31, 2009. In its unanimously adopted Resolution 1842, the 15-member council called for a review of the sanctions before deciding whether to extend the measures before next October. It urged a review of the measures no later than three months after the holding of open, free, fair and transparent presidential elections in accordance with international standards. The World Bank has also reaffirmed its supports for the peace process in the West African country. World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region Obiageli K. Ezekwesili said last month, World Bank congratulates the positive development of the peace process in Cote d Ivoire and I support Prime Minister Guillaume Soro to continue the efforts and initiatives aimed at bringing peace to the country. She said the bank will support till the end the peace process which was revived by the Ouagadougou Agreement signed with the former rebel group on March 4, 2007. The presidential election in Cote d Ivoire has been repeatedly postponed as rival political forces rowed over issues concerning demilitarization and identification since October 2005 when the scheduled vote failed to take place following a civil war that erupted in September 2002. On March 4, 2007, President Gbagbo and rebel New Forces leader Soro concluded a peace deal in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, under which both sides committed themselves to disarming combatants, redeploying regional administrators and organizing elections. กก In April , the parties concerned agreed to hold the presidential election on Nov. 30. Cote d Ivoire, a leading cocoa and diamond exporter in western Africa, was split in two after a botched coup attempt by the New Forces (FN) rebels in 2002, with the north under FN control. </p> </body>