20120218
AFP
Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara has assumed a new regional leadership role less than a year after he assumed power following the bloody post-election conflict in his own country.

Ouattara was elected Friday to head the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at a summit in Abuja, Nigeria.

"It is a confirmation of the return of Ivory Coast to the international scene," government spokesman Bruno Kone told AFP in Abidjan.

It would allow the country "to reinforce its position in the region, as well as beyond," he added.

Pro-Ouattara daily Le Patriote hailed it as "recognition of successful diplomacy."

Ouattara, 70, a former International Monetary Fund economist, had been the favourite to take the key job, which carries a one-year mandate.

"Politically, this is a strong signal because Ivory Coast is out of the post-election crisis," said one West African diplomat. "It is a way of saying the community fully supports Ivory Coast."

Ouattara came to power in April 2011 after a bloody standoff with his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo who had refused to accept defeat in a presidential run-off vote. The conflict between the rivals' supporters left some 3,000 people dead.

Gbagbo was eventually arrested and is now in The Hague awaiting trial on charges of crimes against humanity linked to the post-poll violence.

Ouattara, after being sworn in as president in May last year, quickly relaunched Ivorian diplomacy, making visits around Africa and beyond.

"Ivory Coast is back!" was a popular slogan at that time, to highlight the end to the isolation the west African country endured during the Gbagbo years.

His time in power was marred by battles with rebels in the north and constant delays in holding new elections.

A visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in January, followed a few days later by Ouattara's state visit to France, the former colonial power, by the new Ivorian president, put the seal on Abidjan's diplomatic comeback.

In his new role at ECOWAS Ouattara will now be called on to play a mediation role in crises around the west African region, such as the new Touareg rebellion in Mali.

But some observers have expressed concerns about his willingness to take on new responsibilities.

"It's rather time-consuming," said one source close to Ouattara who requested anonymity, noting all the demands he still faces within Ivory Coast.

For security is still a major concern in the country, despite improvements since the post-election crisis.

Former rebels from the north, who largely backed Ouattara and are now in the regular army, continue to engage in sometimes deadly violence.

The country's reconciliation process, which Ouattara promised his countrymen, has hardly got started.

And Gbagbo supporters boycotted the December legislative polls amid enduring tension between the rival camps.

A new government is expected to be formed in the next two months after partial legislatives polls on February 26.

Ouattara will have to decide whether to keep ex-rebel chief Guillaume Soro as prime minister or to appoint him head of the National Assembly and thereby honour his promise to give the premiership to the party of his key ally, former president Henri Konan Bedie.