JOHANNESBURG, Oct 30 (AFP) - South African President Thabo Mbeki and his
Nigerian counterpart Olusegun Obasanjo have issued a joint call for fresh
presidential elections in Ivory Coast, the South African foreign ministry
said
Monday.
   In a statement drafted after they spoke on the phone at the weekend, the
two presidents said "the interests of the Ivorian people can best be served
through the holding of fresh presidential elections, at a date agreed upon
by
all the parties."
   Mbeki and Obasanjo also called for a government of national unity to be
established to rule the country until new elections were held, and for the
people of Ivory Coast to refrain from further violence.
   Following the controversial vote on October 22, an estimated 155 people
died in clashes between rival party supporters, according to a main
opposition
party whose candidate was excluded from the polls.
   All but five of 19 presidential candidates were barred from running.
   Another 50 people are believed to have died in earlier protests that
routed
military ruler Robert Guei from power after he tried to claim victory in the
election.
   Electoral authorities eventually declared socialist Laurent Gbagbo the
victor.
   Mbeki and Obasanjo said Guei had "de-legitimised" the elections by
banning
14 candidates from taking part, with the result that roughly a third of the
electorate went to the polls.
   They said they want to reconfirm "the need for political inclusiveness in
processes aimed at restoring democracy in the Cote d'Ivoire."
   The interim government should, among other matters, see to it that new
presidential and parliamentary elections were open to all political parties,
they said.
   bur/ef/jlr

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