Interview with UN special envoy for elections Antonio Monteiro

After months of wrangling between political parties, Cote d’Ivoire’s independent electoral commission finally began work 7 March. This means there is no excuse left for not pressing ahead with plans to hold presidential elections in October, the outgoing UN special envoy for elections Antonio Monteiro said in an interview this week with IRIN.

QUESTION: The composition of the electoral commission was first agreed upon in the 2003 Linas-Marcoussis peace talks. It took more than three years to get it up and running. Why did it take so long and why did all key players finally agree?

ANSWER: The electoral commission is the only body responsible for organising presidential elections, so without the commission there can be no elections. It’s the engine of the presidential elections. The election of the bureau of its central committee, held last October, was contested by members of the ruling party and two smaller political parties. A public struggle - I say public because it was in all the newspapers - followed over control of the commission. The opposition holds important seats, including that of chairman and vice-chairman. But there were several unspecified posts for ‘consultants’. We had to give meaning to these seats by defining not only their powers but also their allocation. That has been done now. The substance of these posts is clear and the persons who will hold them have clearly defined tasks. In fact, the [2005] Pretoria agreement created a partisan electoral commission, while it is imperative to have a balanced commission. The Ivorians have now agreed on a formula that allows all commissioners to work in a transparent manner. They understood there could be no elections if they did not find a solution.

Q: Many people in Cote d’Ivoire believe that the main players in the conflict are not interested in organising presidential elections. What makes you think that they are?

A: The situation as it is cannot continue. The political leaders have shown that they want elections because they have understood that they must be held. As you can see, the election campaigns have already started. [Opposition leader] Alassane Ouattara has returned to Cote d’Ivoire, [former president] Henri Bedie is rallying his supporters, even President Laurent Gbagbo has started his campaign. Everybody wants presidential elections. The difficulty is: how do we get there? Now a major hurdle, a huge political quarrel has been overcome by the Ivorians themselves. The agreement on the electoral commission is not a solution imposed by outsiders. And let’s not forget it’s also due to the strong determination of Prime Minister Charles Konan Banny.

Q: The talks in the political capital Yamoussoukro last week were hailed as a major step forward, but there seemed to be few tangible results. Is the sudden agreement on the composition of the 31-member electoral commission an outcome of these talks?

A: Yes, the talks in Yamoussoukro were decisive. It was the first time all key players had met face to face on Ivorian soil since the start of the war. They took decisions there that are already being carried out, starting with the independent electoral commission. There is no longer an excuse to delay the redeployment of the administration, guaranteeing the security of the population and the disarmament process. The political parties were locked in disagreement for months; they did not trust each other at all. But they know how they can resolve their problems. I believe they have an obligation to show the population that there is real political goodwill to respect their commitments.

Q: Are you saying the mutual, long-standing distrust has completely disappeared?

A: Of course, the lack of trust persists, but that’s why the international community is involved, to help rebuild confidence. It was decided in Pretoria that there should be an [arbiter] to [fill that gap]. By accepting my [arbitrage], the political players showed they not only respect the Pretoria accord, but also international law.

Q: What happens if the members of the commission, once they’ve started preparing the elections, find they do not agree after all?

A: Well, the parties are expected to find a consensus, but if there is no consensus, they can resort to a qualified voting system. If the situation remains blocked, it will be up to the UN special envoy for the elections to decide.

Q: The administration must be redeployed, voters have yet to be identified and the rebels and pro-government militia should all hand in their guns before elections can be held. Do you believe it is possible to hold elections by October 2006?

A: It’s still possible but we must go ahead at once. It will take six months - we cannot lose even one. Everything is already in place. Practically and technically speaking, there is no problem whatsoever. Yes, the administration must be redeployed on the entire national territory so that the process of identification can begin - I stress: on the entire national territory, because the UN will not certify voters’ lists if there is no guarantee that the lists are technically valid and compiled in total freedom of movement. But once we have credible and acceptable voter lists, we’re 80 percent there. The UN has already carried out local hearings to identify voters but unfortunately the mobilisation was very weak. People have to pay to get a card and they think it’s too expensive. It would be better if the cards were free of charge so we are calling on the international community to help with that.

Q: The UN-backed panel of mediators has set up a timetable for all these issues with Prime Minister Banny. When will the timetable be made public?

A: Prime Minister Banny has the timetable. I think it will be published in due course.

Q: Your mission in Cote d’Ivoire has come to an end. Do you consider the inauguration of the electoral commission a success?

A: I think that there is a new and different spirit. The Ivorians have shown that they can come together on matters, why not now put them into action? There are no more excuses.