Protests as Gen. Guei is declared winner of presidential polls

Protesting civilians erected barricades in various parts of Abidjan on Tuesday following an announcement by Cote d'Ivoire's Interior Ministry that, contrary to earlier indications, General Robert Guei had won this week's presidential election.

, Protesting civilians erected barricades in various parts of Abidjan on Tuesday following an announcement by Cote d'Ivoire's Interior Ministry that, contrary to earlier indications, General Robert Guei had won this week's presidential election.

, Protesting civilians erected barricades in various parts of Abidjan on Tuesday following an announcement by Cote d'Ivoire's Interior Ministry that, contrary to earlier indications, General Robert Guei had won this week's presidential election.

Humanitarian sources said civilians set up road blocks early Tuesday afternoon in the middle-income areas of Riviera and Cocody, just outside the central administrative district of Le Plateau after the result was announced. Reports that a number of people had been arrested could not be immediately confirmed. Similar protests were reported in other areas around the capital.

The announcement that Guei had won was made by the director of territorial administration, Daniel Bamba Cheikh, who is a member of the Commision nationale électorale (CNE). AFP quoted Cheikh as saying that Guei won 52.72 of the votes while his main rival, Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) leader Laurent Gbagbo, obtained 41.02 percent.

The Interior Ministry official also announced the dissolution of the CNE and said that the results it had collected could not be used. CNE Chairman Honore Guie was reportedly taken away from the commission building by security operatives.

Earlier there had been unconfirmed reports that the Conseil National de Salut Publique (CNSP) - the military junta that forms the backbone of the Ivorian government - was preparing to annul the results of Sunday's election.

French Cooperation Minister Charles Josselin had said in Paris on Tuesday that General Guei had applied to the Supreme Court for the vote to be annulled. However, there was no such announcement on the state media in Abidjan, where the television carried mainly music and state radio featured canned programmes up to the early hours of the afternoon.

Guei's main opponent, Front Populaire Ivoirien (FPI) leader Laurent Gbagbo had claimed victory on Monday after results from about 14 percent of the 241 constituencies had been announced. Guei's supporters had also claimed that their candidate had won.

Around midday on Monday, media sources said, soldiers went to the CNE and foced journalists to leave. They were allowed in some time later and told that the result of the vote would be announced at 19:00 GMT. However, by early afternoon on Tuesday, no results had been made public.

The delay in the announcement of the election results had caused suspicion and apprehension in the capital earlier on Tuesday. Most stores in the Plateau had been closed and secured with wooden boards. There had been no sign of the usual midday traffic jams and few pedestrians were on the streets. Those schools that opened closed early.