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Signs of tension over presidential elections

Cote d’Ivoire’s Comite national de Salut public (CNSP), led by General Robert Guei, warned on Saturday “against any attempt to disrupt public order and any act against the security of the state” in the latest indication of tension linked to presidential elections in September. The warning, contained in a communique, came a day after Guei told diplomats he had learnt that the Rassemblement des Republicains (RDR) party “was planning to commit crimes” because its leader, Alassane Ouattara, might not be eligible to run for president. Under a draft constitution prepared by a commission made up of representatives of political parties and civil society, people wishing to run for president must be able to prove that both parents are (or were) Ivoirian and must never have had any other nationality. This would appear to eliminate Ouattara, who reportedly has been a citizen of Burkina Faso for part of his life. According to a transcript of his speech, published on Saturday in ‘Soir Info’ daily, Guei said: “Certain people are agitating, especially our RDR sisters and brothers. I’ve been told that they are going to commit crimes, they are going to kill a certain person if they are not candidates (...) and that they are going to cause disorder in Cote d’Ivoire, that they are going to go as far as civil war.” He added that the CNSP already had evidence that people were plotting against the state. However, RDR spokesman Aly Coulibaly denied the charge, according to ‘Le Liberal’, a newspaper viewed as pro-RDR. “We categorically reject the serious accusations made against our party,” Coulibaly said. “It’s not true. There is no plot against the security of the state. It’s a pretext to justify repression against our party.”

This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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