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africanews

Incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo was invested by midday on Saturday as the fifth president of the Ivory Coast amid calls on him from the international community to accept defeat from the November 28 run-off, which gave victory to his rival ex-PM Alassane Ouattara with 54.10%, as announced by the election commission (CEI).

The Constitutional Council annulled Ouattara’s victory following complaints of “massive frauds in the rebel-north” lodged by the ruling LMP party. But the UN special representative denounced the Constitutional Council’s decision and certified Ouattara as the new president.

Ivory Coast Prime Minister Soro Guillaume released a statement shortly before Gbagbo’s investiture declaring Ouattara as the new president, to whom he plans to hand his government’s resignation.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director General Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on Saturday his establishment would only collaborate with an Ivorian president recognised by the UN, which is a strong message to Gbagbo who will be needing international aid to rebuild a war-torn country.

The president of the European Union commission José Manuel Barroso on Saturday recognised Alassane Ouattara as the president elect and called on Gbagbo to accept defeat.

AfricaNews source in the capital of the rebel-held north Bouaké revealed that rebel forces were shutting down all government offices in their zone, which is a sign of severing their region from the government-controlled south.

Four government soldiers were killed in Douekoué, southwest of Abidjan, on Friday night during a clash with rebel forces.