From Reuters Ivory Coast Sets Civilian-Rule Election Dates Friday, May 12, 2000 By Anne Boher ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (Reuters) - Ivory Coast's military ruler General Robert Guei and his junta, under pressure at home and abroad to restore civilian rule, said Friday presidential elections would be held Sept. 17. A statement, read by a spokesman for the junta on state television's main evening news, said the vote would be preceded by a referendum on a new constitution July 23 and be followed by parliamentary elections Oct. 29. "The National Public Salvation Committee has adopted the following timetable," said the spokesman, who was wearing military fatigues, before listing the dates. The army staged the West African country's first coup d'etat on Dec. 24, ousting elected President Henri Konan Bedie and installing Guei. He promised a referendum on a revised constitution by the end of April but wrangling over the text meant the deadline was missed. Guei, who has kept the former French colony guessing about whether he will run himself, held successive meetings Friday with ministers, diplomats and the secretary-general of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Salim Ahmed Salim. Salim said a precise timetable had not been discussed then although Guei had reaffirmed his commitment to holding elections before the end of October. Guei said on taking power that he did not seek political office and only wanted to rid the country of the xenophobia and corruption that had characterized the Bedie government. One declared candidate is Alassane Ouattara, a former deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund who was at the heart of a political crisis leading up to the coup. Bedie's Democratic Party (PDCI) maintained he was a national of Burkina Faso and therefore ineligible to stand for president. The issue has delayed the drawing up of a new constitution. The new constitution could disqualify Ouattara from running because of doubts about his mother's nationality -- a requirement may be to have two Ivorian-born parents -- and allegations that he registered as a student and took a central bank job as a national of Burkina Faso. The international community has pressed for a speedy return to civilian rule, and the resumption of foreign aid that Ivory Coast desperately needs is largely dependent on elections being held. If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote in the presidential election on Sept. 17, a second round will be held on Oct. 8. Municipal elections will take place on Nov. 19. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------