Obasanjo flies in to try to break prime minister deadlock

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo flew in to Cote d'Ivoire on Friday for a whirlwind round of meetings to try to break the political deadlock over who should be the new prime minister and get the peace process moving again. Peace-sealing elections were supposed to be have been held on 30 October to turn the page on three years of no war, no peace. But mediators and UN officials agreed that this was impossible because of the intransigence of the warring factions. A UN Security Council resolution gave Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo another 12 months in office to work towards holding new elections and called for a new prime minister, who would be acceptable to all and have full authority over his cabinet. The 15-nation body said it hoped the new head of government would be announced by the end of October, but November came with no decision in sight. And some diplomats said on Friday that, even with Obasanjo's visit, a quick fix was not on the cards. "I am certain they won't find the new prime minister today," one western diplomat told IRIN. "Obasanjo's schedule is so tight that there is no time to get to the bottom of things." Obasanjo, who is also the current chairman of the African Union, will be meeting Gbagbo, current prime minister Seydou Diarra, as well as opposition and rebel leaders, who have said they no longer recognise Gbagbo's authority. South African President Thabo Mbeki, who has been mediating on behalf of the AU for the last year, stayed away, sending his security minister instead. "It looks like Mbeki wants to stay in the background this time so that Obasanjo can get himself hit on the nose," the western diplomat said. "That way, nobody can say 'It's not working because of Mbeki.'" Rebels and opposition leaders have accused Mbeki of favouring Gbagbo, following comments from the South Africans that the rebels' failure to disarm was the greatest obstacle to peace and holding elections on time. Diplomats say it now seems up to Obasanjo to deal with the near impossible task of hammering out an agreement between Gbagbo and his opponents. Rebel leader Guillaume Soro has already said he should be the new prime minister, given that his New Forces rebels control half of the country. The G7 coalition of rebels and political opposition parties said in a statement on Thursday that "the prime minister must be designated by the G7 and in that respect, it is up to the New Forces to propose ... the prime minister". But analysts say Gbagbo is unlikely to accept sharing power with his arch rival, who launched an unsuccessful coup against him in September 2002. Diplomats say the current incumbent, Diarra, could stay on if the sides cannot agree on a new candidate, but he has come under fire for lacking the necessary authority to move the peace process forward. In South Africa, Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad, a key member of the mediation team this past year, warned that time was running out. "If the new prime minister is not found soon the situation there could deteriorate," Pahad told reporters in Cape Town. "The situation in Ivory Coast demands a new prime minister who is much stronger and has a better relationship with Gbagbo."