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Sep 25, 2009

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo reaffirmed on Friday that much-delayed elections would be held in the West African country on November 29, despite problems with the publication of voter lists.

Ivory Coast's election commission confirmed last week that it had missed a deadline to publish provisional voter lists and political parties warned that the world's top cocoa grower may miss another poll date.

The publication of the lists, initially delayed in late August, is a crucial step toward holding the poll aimed at ending a seven-year crisis, during which rebels have controlled the north and the country's economy has stagnated.

But in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Gbagbo said the election process had "entered an irreversible phase."

"The presidential election date is fixed for November 29, 2009. There is no longer any political obstacle to holding the ballot," he said. He did not refer to the voter list issue, according to an official text of his speech.

Questions of nationality and who will be eligible to vote are sensitive in Ivory Coast. They were among the reasons cited by the rebels, now known as the New Forces (FN), in fighting a 2002-2003 war against Gbagbo.

The conflict has since died down but polls, first due in 2005, have been repeatedly delayed in a tortuous peace process amid accusations that the belligerents were profiting from the status quo while most Ivorians suffered.

Analysts say Ivory Coast needs to hold a successful poll to reclaim its spot as one of West Africa's most vibrant economies and stable nations. Many of the reforms needed to improve the cocoa sector also hinge on the vote taking place, they say.