20101207
africanews

Botswana President Khama Ian Khama has strongly condemned the situation in Ivory Coast saying that Laurent Gbagbo should be a "true statesman and step aside".

Khama was speaking to the BBC focus on Africa on Monday about the situation in the west African country, which now has two presidents and two prime ministers after both incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo and the election commission-elected President Alassane Ouattara named their prime ministers on Sunday.

Ouattara is backed by the European Union, the US, France and the African Union, while Gbagbo is backed by the country’s army, after the Constitutional Council handed him victory from Nov.28 run-off following the invalidation of the results declared by the election commission which gave Ouattara a 54% win.

ECOWAS is holding a special summit on the Ivory Coast in Abuja on Tuesday. Former South African President Thambo Mbeki was in the troubled country on Sunday to initiate an African Union-backed mediation, but reports say he left without any success.

Rebel forces in the north of the country told reporters on Sunday they would use “military force to kick Gbagbo out of office” if he keeps spurning pacific mediation.