ABIDJAN, Nov 6 (AFP) - The Ivory Coast government has mapped out new voting districts ahead of legislative elections next month, meeting with the main political parties to dispel suspicions of attempted gerrymandering. Interior Minister Emile Boga Doudou announced over state television late Sunday that President Laurent Gbagbo, elected in last month's controversial elections, signed a decree enacting the new electoral map at an extraordinary cabinet meeting. The new map creating 174 new districts for an enlarged, 225-seat assembly on the basis of a 1998 census was presented to representatives of the main political parties, including two formations whose presidential candidates were excluded from last month's election restoring civilian rule. Le Patriote, the mouthpiece of the Rally of Republicans (RDR) party, had on Saturday charged that the new government was seeking to skew the new electoral map in favor of Gbagbo's Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) ahead of the legislative elections on December 10. However at Sunday's meeting, members of the RDR and the former sole ruling Democratic Party (PDCI) all appeared satisfied with the fairness and accuracy of the new map. Last month's controversial presidential poll was contested by just five candidates after the Supreme Court excluded other key contenders, including PDCI members and the RDR candidate, Alassane Ouattara, a former prime minister. The polls were followed by days of violent protests as military ruler Robert Guei refused to acknowledge defeat to Gbagbo, then Gbagbo supporters battled those of the RDR, which sought a new presidential election. A total of 171 people died in the unrest, according to the new government. Unofficial estimates earlier put the number at more than 200. The PDCI -- which had ruled in the Ivory Coast from independence in 1960 until Guei seized power in a December 1999 coup -- had 145 of the 175 seats in the last national assembly. The body's expansion to 225 seats was decided by the electoral commission set up by the military regime that was in power for the 10 months leading up to last month's presidential elections. Boga Doudou said that the FPI had favored a proportional vote, but was in the minority on the issue. Instead the vote will be first past the post. so/gd/jlr _________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com. Share information about yourself, create your own public profile at http://profiles.msn.com. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------