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Ivory Coast: Bedié is calling to vote Ouattara

By on November 9, 2010
The second round for the presidential seems to be delayed for one week to give more time for logistic preparations; while Bédié has called on his supporters to vote in favor of Alassane Ouattara, remaining loyal to an alliance to defeat incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo.

With 25% of votes collected in the first round, the former head of state is in the position of arbiter between Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara. The Rally of Houphouetists for Democracy and Peace (RHDP), established before the first round by Henri Konan Bedié, Alassane Ouattara and two other opposition leaders, called all the activists, the supporters and all voters to rally around the candidacy of Ouattara. The terms of the agreement stipulate that the eliminated candidates in the first round shall support the qualified runner against Laurent Gbagbo. By this first confirmation release the alliance is still relevant. With the support of Henri Konan Bedié, Alassane Ouattara should easily cope with this second round; however voters could be reluctant to vote for a leader from the north, because his nationality has been questioned in the 2000 election. Since 2002, Côte d’Ivoire is a de facto cut in half between a loyalist south and a rebel-held north. Nonetheless, the whole point of the poll is mainly to revive the hampered economy by rescuing the country from its long the political impasse. The Ivory Coast is the world’s largest cocoa producer.

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