20110314
xinhua

ABIDJAN, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Cote d'Ivoire's incumbent Laurent Gbagbo and his supporters on Sunday voiced opposition to the endorsement by the African Union (AU) of Alassane Ouattara as the president-elect in the West African country.

The chairman of Gbagbo's Popular Front (FPI), Pascal Affi Nguessan, reaffirmed that Gbagbo's camp was opposed to the decision by the AU Peace and Security Council to recognize Ouattara as the winner of the Nov. 28 election.

Nguessan made the statement at a press conference one day after attending the AU meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where he represented Gbagbo. He asked all Cote d'Ivoire nationals to remain mobilized and to continue the fight.

"The Peace and Security Council did not succeed in convincing us that it's Ouattara who won the elections," he said.

He insisted that it is only Cote d'Ivoire's Constitutional Council that has the legal mandate to declare the winner of a presidential election.

Following the election, the country's electoral commission declared Ouattara as the victor, while the Constitutional Council rejected the results published by the commission the next day. Still the international community recognizes Ouattara as the winner.

The FPI chairman, however, admitted that the AU meeting in Addis Ababa "had opened another window of opportunity for Cote d'Ivoire."

"The hope created by this meeting is that it recommended that it's upon the people of Cote d'Ivoire to decide the fate of their country," he said.

"I am asking our fellow citizens to remain alert and more vigilant. There's still hope," he declared.

Since the disputed election, Cote d'Ivoire has been stuck in a political standoff with both Gbagbo and Ouattara claiming the presidency.

The post-election violence has left 400 or so people dead and tens of thousands more displaced. The country is facing the most serious situation since the civil war broke out in 2002.

A panel of five AU presidents was mandated recently to mediate the crisis. On Thursday, the panel proposed "binding" terms to the two camps, while confirming Ouattara as Cote d'Ivoire's president- elect.