20101205
Independent (Lagos)

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Victor Gheho, has condemned the confusion trailing the outcome of the presidential elections in Côte d'Ivoire.

The condemnation came just as the commission announced that ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government would converge on Abuja tomorrow for an Extraordinary Summit to examine the situation and decide on subsequent action in accordance with the ECOWAS relevant texts.

In the same vein, former Head of State and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Muhammadu Buhari, pleaded that the political upheaval resulting from the outcome of the Côte d'Ivoire presidential election be handled with care to prevent the situation from degenerating into another civil war.

Gheho, who called for the wish of the people to be respected, further said in a statement by the Communications Department of the commission in Abuja over the weekend that ECOWAS was disappointed with the unexpected turn of events in Côte d'Ivoire.

He said the commission was particularly disappointed with President Laurent Gbagbo's being sworn in for a second term, adding: "The ECOWAS Commission wishes to express its deep disappointment and concern at the anomalies that have attended the leadership transition in that member state, especially the reported inauguration of the incumbent president.

"In the prevailing circumstances, ECOWAS strongly condemns any attempt to usurp the popular will of the people of Côte d'Ivoire and appeals to all stakeholders to accept the results declared by the electoral commission", he said.

According to the ECOWAS commission, the government of Côte d'Ivoire has chosen to ignore the appeals of member states of the sub-regional body to accept the results of the election thereby overlooking its efforts in ensuring that the polls ended peacefully.

Basile Zoma/Jacoline Prinsloo/Fraternité Matin

Central figures in the Ivoirian crisis: challenger Alassane Ouattara, mediator Thabo Mbeki and former incumbent Laurent Gbagbo.

Gheho further said the ECOWAS observer team in ascertaining the true wish of the electorate and the concerted efforts made by ECOWAS and the international community to ensure peaceful and democratic election was in line with the ECOWAS Declaration on Political Principles and the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.

He, therefore, called on Ivorian political leaders and the people of the country to refrain from any further acts "that would lead to violence and deterioration in the fragile situation".

Also, Buhari while commenting on the Cote d'Ivoire's crisis, recounted that the Independent Electoral Commission of the country had announced leader of the opposition as winner of that election. He noted that later, the result was subjected to a judicial screening which then upturned the result in favour of the incumbent.